Uneasy Lies the Head
by Hiiraeth
Summary: It's been almost two years since the war and Konoha is at peace. Then an untouchable stranger shows up and very nearly succeeds in assassinating Konoha's Sixth Hokage. With every sign pointing towards a dead man as the aggressor, Team 7 has to fight to keep their makeshift family intact.
1. Uneasy Lies the Head

_" __How many thousand of my poorest subjects_  
_Are at this hour asleep! O sleep, O gentle sleep,[..] _  
_Canst thou, O partial sleep, give thy repose _  
_To the wet sea-boy in an hour so rude,_  
_And in the calmest and most stillest night,_  
_With all appliances and means to boot,_  
_Deny it to a king? Then happy low, lie down!_  
_Uneasy Lies the Head that Wears a Crown,"_

William Shakespeare, _Henry the Fourth_

* * *

It was quiet in Konoha. The air was still; almost as though the world itself was holding its breath in anticipation. Not even the leaves rustled.

The man put one boot on the roof's banister and breathed in deeply. The cool air felt pleasant in his throat and he closed his eyes briefly. His heart beat steadily in his chest and his muscles felt ready.

Ah, yes. It was a fine morning to embark on an S-rank mission.

He overlooked the village with a proud glint in his eyes, observing the intact roofs and empty streets. There hadn't been an attack in over a year. Most of the villagers were still fast asleep, but here and there he could spot movement; young families preparing their children for school.

_Peace looks good on Konoha,_ the man thought. _ It's as if we were never at war at all._

Nowadays, all the fighting was contained to defeating bandits or remnant white Zetsu's, of which there were precious few left. With Uchiha Obito dead, Akatsuki had no members left. A few radicals had popped up here and there claiming Akatsuki had the right idea, but none of them had ever been of the level of the original organization. They had been easy to take out- or talk out of it, on two occasions.

No, the man thought, the world had gotten rather boring lately. But quite frankly, he didn't care at all.

The sun rose steadily on the horizon. Not long now before the population at large would wake up. Time to leave. This was something he had to do alone, a risk he did not want to subject his subor-

"HOKAGE-SAMA!"

The man jumped on the spot, shock etched on his features as he almost fell over the banister. Already? How had they found out so quickly? He leapt off the banister and bent his knees in preparation for a rough landing.

Or it would have been, if not for the huge beam of wood that had suddenly curled itself around his waist like an overgrown tentacle. The man groaned, not in pain but annoyance. "Tenzou, I keep telling you-"

"Hokage-sama, you have no business sneaking off like a common burglar when you know very well you have an important meeting today," The second voice said. As the wooden tentacle pulled the first man back onto the roof, he was faced with an irate looking man in his late twenties with short brown hair and large dark eyes.

Tenzou, also known as Yamato or to some, Kinoe, looked decidedly annoyed. His eyebrows were drawn together and his mouth a thin line. He was a man of many names, but very little patience. "I keep telling you: you should _delegate_, Rokudaime-sama,"

"Mahh, no need to be so formal-"

"-It's as if you don't trust us with the important missions! Honestly-"

"-Just Kakashi-"

"You'd think we're all incompetent! But I won't stand for it, not anymore- you should stay safe inside the village-"

"-Or Kakashi-sempai, I suppose-"

"-And not risk your life unnecessarily! That's not what Tsunade-sama promoted you for!"

It occurred to Hatake Kakashi that if he hadn't stopped to admire the view, he'd have been a lot better off. He did a quick mental count. This was, oh, at least the second time this week Tenzou was giving him this speech. It wasn't that he was wrong, per se, but it was a simple fact that Kakashi was not built for sitting behind a desk 24/7. No doubt that had contributed to his restless feet lately; he wanted to get out and _move. _This S-rank mission to Kusagakure had seemed the perfect opportunity, but of course trivial matters such as _meetings_ had to come first.

"This meeting is with the Daimyo, Kakashi-sama!"

Okay, perhaps not trivial. But boring. Oh, infinitely so.

"Mahh, Tenzou, take a deep breath. Your face is going red, and that's not your colour at all-"

"Please listen! I am not at all joking- the consequences of you not going would be disastrous!"

Tenzou was starting to look genuinely distraught by now, so Kakashi took pity on him. He raised his hands in what he hoped was a calming gesture. "Of course I would have gone. I simply would have arrived a bit.. well, just slightly-"

Tenzou's eyebrow ticked dangerously. "Late?" He finished.

"Well. Yes." Kakashi hated being so predictable. He rubbed a hand over the back of his head, putting his already unruly hair even more on end. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned casually on the wood, waiting for Tenzou to release him.

Tenzou shook his head angrily. "You're unbelievable, you know that?"

"Ah- you're unbelievable, _Hokage-sama,_"

Tenzou glared at him. Then he turned on his heels and walked towards the staircase. His mokuton technique loosened around Kakashi's waist, but Kakashi still had to wriggle his hips in what he feared was a rather undignified manoeuvre to free himself properly. He sighed as he watched Tenzou go. He'd taken it one step too far, hadn't he?

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small, bright red scroll. The white 'S' marking its difficulty and payment level looked back innocently. Kakashi sighed again, shoulders sagging, and returned it to his pocket. Another time, then.

He trudged down the stairs leading directly down to his office. The previous one that Tsunade had used had been levelled to the ground by Pain, but through the combined efforts of Tenzou and the Land of Waves builders a near identical replacement now stood at the foot of the mountain.

Tenzou had taken position opposite the desk, a clipboard already in his hands. He wasn't Kakashi's official assistant (as Konoha's brand-new ANBU high commander he was decidedly over-qualified) but for this particular mission he was in charge.

He tapped a pen against the clipboard as Kakashi sat down. The ticking sped up when Kakashi lifted his legs and put them on the desk. "To recap, in half an hour you and your assigned team of bodyguards-" Kakashi rolled his eyes- "will be leaving for the Land of Fire's capital, where you will instantly go to the Daimyo's palace. There you will have a political meeting followed by an official dinner with the Daimyo, his wife and his advisors. After that, there will be a ball to celebrate the fruitful cooperation between the capital and Konohagakure and the Daimyo's recent marriage. You and your party will return here in two days' time."

"The party in question will consist of Nara Shikamaru, Haruno Sakura, Sai, Shiranui Genma, Uzuki Yuugao, Akimichi Chouji and myself."

No surprise there, Kakashi thought. Genma had been part of Tsunade and Sandaime's security detail, so it only made sense that the duty should carry over to the sixth Hokage. After that Kakashi had personally requested for Yuugao's presence, as he knew her to be reliable and decidedly normal for an ANBU member from their days as teammates, and finally Tenzou, bless his soul, had volunteered. The others made sense as well; Shikamaru could keep an eye out during the meeting in the admittedly unlikely situation that Kakashi should miss anything important, Sakura would serve as the team's medic _and_ brawn, and Sai could provide subterfuge and espionage like no other. It would make for a good team, if a bit large for such a simple mission.

Still, one element didn't quite add up.

"Why Chouji?" Kakashi asked.

Tenzou's expression grew a bit uncertain. "Ah.. Apparently the Daimyo has heard of Chouji's cooking skills and.. wishes to experience it for himself. I figured it would be a fitting present,"

"You're going to give Chouji away as a present? I imagine the Akimichi clan will have something to say about that,"

"Not Chouji, his cooking!" Tenzou protested, clearly frustrated- but he paused when he saw the amused expression in Kakashi's eyes. "Oh, haha, very funny. Either way, I've chosen these people to create the most efficient team possible for this kind of situation."

Well, admittedly that hadn't been his best joke. Kakashi nodded, absently studying his nails for a moment. "Naruto will be angry to be excluded, I imagine. He might try to smuggle himself in."

Tenzou closed his eyes and tried to look as dignified as possible. "Then he shall just have to grow up and realize that for some missions _tact_ is required, rather than earth shattering ninjutsu,"

"So you thought bringing Sai would be a good idea."

"I- well- of course we would keep him in the back room during the meeting,"

Kakashi chuckled and leaned back into his chair. "I trust your judgement, Tenzou. You do know that, don't you?"

Tenzou's face flushed. "Ah-I-well-yes, of course, Hokage-sama,"

"Then trust mine as well; please stop calling me 'Hokage-sama'. Anyway, would you mind refreshing my memory? What, exactly, _are_ we having a meeting for..?"

There was a brief silence as Tenzou gaped at him. "I- this could have been a truly _important meeting and you would have gone without knowing what it's about?_" He threw his arms into the air and stormed out of the room, though not before tossing his clipboard onto Kakashi's table. "Unbelievable!"

Kakashi chuckled and picked the clipboard up. Time to get to work.

* * *

They left about an hour later; the team had in fact assembled perfectly on time, but had discovered a few minutes away from the village that Kakashi had quite 'forgotten' to bring any of the official garments required for an important meeting. Many annoyed groans and a quick trip to the Hokage castle later, they were once again on the road.

Well, technically, in the trees.

Kakashi landed on a thick branch and pushed off with a minimum of chakra, launching himself at the next tree. He would have preferred to wear only his normal uniform- the new, dark one, with the ANBU-like dark grey vest and the boots that were so much more comfortable than the white wrappings had been- but Tenzou had managed to convince him to at least wear the white Hokage coat over it. He also had to bring the blasted hat along, but rather than wearing it on his head he wore it on his back. It snapped against his shoulder blades with every landing, an uncomfortable reminder of his position.

If there was one thing Kakashi hated about being Hokage, it was the sheer _overprotectiveness _of people who had happily smacked him on the head before his big promotion. Now he found himself flanked by Sakura on the left and Genma on the right. Yuugao was behind him along with Chouji, the young man's back heavily laden with backpacks and even a few visible pans; he insisted on bringing his own supplies. Yuugao was dressed in a normal jounin uniform rather than her customary ANBU uniform to seem more inconspicuous. Tenzou had taken the front with Shikamaru, occasionally exchanging quiet words with the younger man as they adjusted the group's course. Kakashi had predictably been directed to the middle of the group. They were officially his bodyguards, after all, and it seemed they planned to act on it. His mouth twisted in annoyance.

Even after a year of being Hokage, he still hadn't gotten used to it.

After all, the whole idea of the Hokage was that it was the strongest person in the village. Truthfully that wasn't quite the case here; strong as Kakashi was there was still a certain blond idiot in the village who could beat him in a fight. But he knew for a fact he could take each of his bodyguards in a one-on-one fight. Well, probably; Sakura would be tricky. Even so, their insistence in treating him as though he were little more than an accident prone child was aggravating. He knew he had a bit of a reputation of being hospitalized, but he hadn't known it was quite as bad as this.

"It's kind of nice to be on a mission together again, isn't it Kakashi-sensei? It's been almost two years," Sakura's voice cut through his thoughts and he looked up.

"Hmm, it sure is," He said absently. Their last 'mission' had involved saving the world, the Moon Goddess herself and something he could really only describe as very convenient impromptu Susano'o skills. It wasn't necessarily a good memory, yet Sakura managed to make it sound like a walk in the park.

"And good to get out of the village, right?" She continued. "It must feel rather confining,"

Ah, perceptive. He'd never given her enough credit for that. "I was all for leaving the village earlier today, but Ten-" Yamato. He was Yamato now. "Yamato wouldn't let me,"

"You were planning to leave _this morning,_" Yamato said from the front. His voice sounded indignant but there was a hint of gratitude in his large dark eyes. "And you would have missed this meeting,"

"I thought we decided I would have been _late_, not altogether absent," Kakashi retorted mildly.

To his surprise, Sakura actually giggled. He gave her a look. "Sakura? It's not like you to laugh at my tardi- my habits."

She smiled again. "Just remembering the old days. There was that one time where you were so late we'd already left, and afterwards you came to find us. You had such a perplexed expression on your face that we were too busy laughing to blame you,"

Genma snorted but did not comment. Kakashi could understand. He wouldn't brave speaking while jumping through the air with a lethal senbon in his mouth either, though he suspected that was not part of Genma's reasoning.

"Is the delay the reason why we are rushing?" Sai asked. "I was under the impression the meeting was not of great importance; was I mistaken?"

"No, you're not mistaken," Shikamaru piped up from the front. "The meeting is more of a formality than anything; The Daimyo's previous wife died two years ago, but he remarried two weeks ago. As fellow head of state Kakashi-sensei has been invited to the festivities as per proper protocol. However, since Kakashi-sensei has only been Hokage for little over a year he has more to prove,"

Kakashi's face fell a little. That much he knew. He'd only been to the Daimyo once before, shortly after his inauguration. It had been a fairly uneventful affair that had left him thoroughly unimpressed with the Daimyo.

"Though rumour has it Tsunade-sama never had to try very hard to impress the Daimyo, because he had a hard time looking away from her," Genma offered with a sheepish smile, gesturing at his chest. Sakura made a small scandalized noise and Yuugao shook her head in disapproval.

_Get distracted by Tsunade's looks and you will miss the cunning mind underneath_, Kakashi thought. "Well, it's true; the Daimyo is definitely an idiot," He said dryly.

Genma almost choked on his laughter, an unfortunate consequence of having a senbon in his mouth.

"I have a feeling this diplomacy thing is going to be troublesome," Shikamaru muttered.

Kakashi only smiled, too happy to be outside and moving with a team around him- the way life s_hould be- _to worry about what was to come.

* * *

Although it had once gone by a different name, the capital of Fire Country was eponymously called Okibi city by its inhabitants. Okibi city was located near one of the inactive volcanoes Fire Country had been named for. The snow-topped mountain dominated the landscape in the way only volcanoes could, casting its shadow over the lands. Yet Okibi City had earned its wealth through the volcano's most treasured ability: the highly fertile grounds surrounding it. Okibi's rice fields and forests always flourished and lent an almost magical quality to the city.

Where Konohagakure was Fire Country's military stronghold, Okibi was its centre of trade and business. With its excellent farming grounds it was also highly popular amongst farmers and grocers, which in turn made trading a lot easier.

There were no walls or gates surrounding the city, but there was always a platoon of Konoha shinobi stationed within the city to patrol its streets and perimeter. It was part of the deal between Konoha and the Fire Country: We protect you and in turn, you provide us with money and food. Simple, yet highly effective.

When Kakashi and his team arrived, a pair of Konoha guards appeared out of the guard tower and saluted proudly.

"It's an honour, Hokage-sama," Their leader said, offering a neat salute. She was a woman in her early forties with an eye patch and steel grey hair pulled back into a strict bun, dressed impeccably in the new Konoha uniform. At her side, a young red haired man squeaked out a nervous greeting.

Kakashi vaguely recognized her as a fellow Third Shinobi War veteran, though the woman was at least a decade older than he was and they hadn't interacted much at the time. "Tomoe-san, isn't it?" Kakashi said, nodding at her and her much younger colleague. "It's good to be here. I hope they're not expecting a parade, though,"

Tomoe shook her head, a hint of amusement in her dark eye. "I'm sorry sir, I'm afraid the streets are already packed, but my men will keep them away from you. Everyone is eager to see the Hokage,"

Kakashi scowled a little. "I suppose sneaking around them would be impolite..?"

"It would be, sir, but your predecessor found sending a clone through the masses solved the problem neatly," One corner of her mouth twitched.

Kakashi chortled, his appreciation for Tsunade growing even stronger. "She would, wouldn't she? Thank you, Tomoe-san, I will certainly keep that in mind,"

"Meaning he'll disappear at the first chance he gets," Sakura said under her breath.

"Mahh, I think that'll be an effective way to go about this," Kakashi said, ignoring her remark. He raised his hands up in a familiar T-shape. "Kage Bunshin no jutsu!"

Half a second later, he smiled at his mirror image. "There we go. You get to do the parade while I'm off to the palace. Genma, Chouji, Sai and this young man will accompany you," He said, pointing at the young redhead, who blushed furiously in response. The clone grimaced.

"Tomoe-san, you are more familiar with this city than me or my team; would you lead us to the palace?"

Tomoe gave a small bow. "Of course, sir. You're expected any moment now."

Kakashi nodded. "Very well. Let's go,"

Tomoe led them down a narrow alley to their left, away from prying eyes. Tenzou immediately made his way to the front of the group to walk next to Kakashi, his eyes wary.

"No disapproving remarks, Te-Yamato?" Kakashi asked. "I was rather expecting them."

Tenzou shook his head. "No. This course of action makes sense; in fact," He smirked a little. "I was there when Tsunade-sama first used it. It's effective and ultimately safer."

"Safe?" Sakura piped up from just behind them. "What risks could civilians pose?"

Shikamaru nodded in agreement. "The worst they could do is throw rocks, but you're hardly unpopular enough for that."

Kakashi's shoulders drooped. Was he unpopular at all?

Sakura giggled at his expression. "Don't look so glum, sensei, or we might start thinking you take it as a compliment when people throw rocks at you."

The others laughed. Kakashi gave Sakura a disgruntled look, but when Tomoe shot him a curious look over her shoulder, he winked. He could take a joke.

All remnants of insecurity disappeared from Tomoe's face and she grinned back. "A new wind's blowing, huh?" She remarked. "If we'd tried that with Tsunade-sama, she'd have punched us for the trouble."

"I could punch you all if you really want me to," Kakashi replied drily. "You do seem to be asking for it."

There were more chuckles and Sakura amiably elbowed Kakashi in the side (with enough force that he almost crashed into the wall).

The rest of the trip was rather uneventful. Their trick had worked; they could still hear the crowds in the distance, thousands of voices murmuring and chatting and screaming, but not one civilian was there to see the real Hokage and his party walk through the city's alleys.

The Daimyo's palace appeared at the horizon quickly enough. It was a large building, built more to intimidate than inspire awe. It was blocky and square, with small portals that arrows could be shot through if necessary. There were guards too, of the civilian kind. Well-trained but no match for a shinobi, even with their spears. "We thought you were in main street…?" One of them said, clearly confused, but Tomoe ignored the remark and asked for entrance instead. They quickly bowed in return and let Kakashi and his team pass through.

Where the palace's outside had resembled a fortress, the inside was more reminiscent of an old, traditional dwelling. The walls were either thick, red stone or delicate panelling with rice paper. The furniture was all made of wood, but beautifully lacquered and clearly the work of a true craftsman. As they passed through the hallways, a few servants stopped here and there to give them deep bows.

The group stopped in front of a set of large doors. "This is where I leave you," Tomoe said with a half-bow. "Daimyo-sama is already waiting on the other side. There will be servants to show you to your rooms afterwards, or aid you in any way you may wish. If you require my services, you only have to say the word."

Kakashi nodded absently, eyes still fixed on the doors. They had been engraved with what appeared to be a legendary battle; a large golden fox, a great purple samurai, another great samurai in white, and a faintly pink Samurai with a purple diamond on her forehead. There was no doubt in Kakashi's mind who they were supposed to be, but the discovery still left him slightly light-headed. He'd never been the subject of legendary battles before.

Next to him, Sakura smiled nervously and they exchanged a look. She gave him an encouraging nod and they pushed the doors open together.

The Daimyo was already waiting inside. He had not changed much over the years; a man with a rather weak chin, small beady eyes and a permanent smile playing around his toad-like lips. He did not make for a pretty sight, even in official regalia.

The woman next to him, however, proved to be quite the opposite. She was much younger than her husband, perhaps a year or five older than Kakashi, with shining black hair that fell over her shoulders and dark, intelligent eyes that she quickly averted as she caught him looking; a custom he had never quite understood but seemed quite common amongst high-born women. Her lips had been painted red, and her white Kimono was covered in matching red print. She looked positively regal.

Trusting in the professionalism of his team, Kakashi knew none of them would comment on the huge contrast between husband and wife. He strode over to the slight podium they had positioned themselves on, stopped and gave a slight bow.

"It is an honour to be here, Daimyo-sama," He said, rising with as much elegance as he could muster. He kept his shoulders straight for a change; he was here to make an impression.

The Daimyo's smile widened. "Welcome, welcome!" He said, rising clumsily from his pillow. "Rokudaime-sama, I welcome you to my palace,"

Three welcomes. At least Kakashi wouldn't have to doubt the Daimyo was glad to see him, though frankly the carving of team 7 on the man's front doors had already made that clear.

"I would like to introduce you to my new wife, Miho-Hime," He gestured towards the woman. She had not moved at all, but now she finally raised her eyes. She scanned the group of shinobi quickly, before she offered them all a slight nod.

Kakashi nodded. "My name is Hatake Kakashi-"

"Oh, there is no need!" The Daimyo interrupted him cheerfully, hand waving from a limp wrist. "A man such as yourself never truly has to introduce himself; everyone knows who you are, including my darling Miho-hime,"

"Mahh, may I introduce my team, then..?"

"Of course, of course!"

Kakashi stepped to the side and his team bowed simultaneously. "Please meet Yamato, Haruno Sakura, Nara Shikamaru and Uzuki Yuugao. They are here as my bodyguards, though I'm sure such a measure will prove to be unnecessary,"

"Oh, quite, quite," The Daimyo said, moving forward to stand within the group. He stopped in front of Sakura, eyes narrowing a little. "Haruno Sakura..? _The_ Haruno Sakura? Surely not."

A faint blush appeared on Sakura's cheeks. Kakashi smiled. "The one and only," He said, not without pride.

"Oh!" The daimyo laughed and clapped his hands together. "Marvellous! One of the four who saved the world! Did you hear that, Miho-chan? We're in the presence of two world-savers,"

"Technically, every shinobi in this room was involved," Kakashi argued. "But without Sakura's brilliant medical ninjutsu things might have ended very differently, indeed,"

Sakura smiled at him briefly, gratitude shining in her eyes. "Ah, thank you Daimyo-sama. The pleasure is all mine, I'm sure," She said diplomatically.

"Fantastic!" The Daimyo exclaimed again, eagerly taking one of Sakura's gloved hands into his own shaking it vigorously. "Quite fascinating! I shall not have to worry about heart attacks or assassins in your presence, ahaha!"

Sakura carefully managed to slip her hand free of the Daimyo's grasp. The Daimyo didn't seem to mind; he'd already focused on the only other female of the group, Yuugao, and was now shaking her hand as well. Misplaced courtesy? Or were there other reasons this man had been so eager to see Jiraiya become Hokage, back in the day? Icha Icha fans were everywhere.

Kakashi blinked to shake off the thoughts. Business first, amusing theories later.

"Mahh, my team should probably go to their quarters. We've had a rather long journey," Kakashi drawled, glancing at Tenzou. "I'm sure we'll be able to conduct our business with just the three of us,"

Tenzou's brow furrowed immediately and he started shaking his head.

Kakashi shrugged in return.

"Oh, certainly," The Daimyo snapped his fingers together. "Daisuke-kun, please escort our guests to their quarters, while the Hokage and I have a drink,"

A young, pale-haired man appeared out of nowhere. He was bowing so profusely to Kakashi, the Daimyo, and his wife, that the only impression Kakashi got of his face were pale, sweaty features. Then the young man beckoned Kakashi's team and scurried off quickly. He never turned his back on the Daimyo and didn't stop bowing either, which made him look rather like a crab.

The Shinobi exchanged glances and made to follow the servant. Only Yuugao, Shikamaru and Tenzou paused, questioning looks on their faces. It was unusual for the bodyguards to leave their charge, so they were probably worried.

Kakashi smiled cheerfully and lifted one hand just far enough to raise attention to it. When he was sure they were looking, he quickly signed through three ANBU hand signs. _All is well._ Shikamaru wouldn't get it, but the other two would brief him.

Yuugao gave him a last worried look and left. Tenzou looked dismayed but followed her as well, and Shikamaru shrugged, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and strolled after them with his customary slouch. A man after Kakashi's own heart.

The real reason he had sent them away was simple: firstly, there wasn't really any reason to think they would be necessary on a mission like this. Secondly, the Daimyo and his wife were far more likely to be honest if there was only one person to listen in.

_If_ there was only one, that is. Kakashi carefully spread thin tendrils of his chakra through the room to sense whether there were any other signs of life, but aside from himself and the couple in front of him he couldn't feel anyone. No more surprise appearances from servants, then. That was the one trouble with civilians; they were almost impossible to sense.

He smiled at the Daimyo, who had moved back to his own seat on the small podium. There was a small table placed before them, with a pillow before it. The Daimyo gestured at it, and Kakashi obliged by stepping up and kneeling down on the pillow. Miho made another half-bow, which he returned awkwardly. All this formality was starting to get to him.

The hour that followed was relatively uneventful. Kakashi occasionally attempted to steer the subject back to politics, but the Daimyo was startlingly successful at avoiding the topic. Every time Kakashi tried, he'd handily (Or, Kakashi suspected, absently) remark on the colour of the curtains and how they really had to get new ones. Miho would occasionally remark on it as well, with a surprisingly deep, melodious voice.

All in all, Kakashi thought, the Daimyo had done nothing to change Kakashi's mind: the man really was an idiot.

* * *

He managed to get away after a few hours of talking to the Daimyo, bored out of his mind and desperate for a change of pace. Ahh, the good old days where missions had consisted of beating up bandits and killing would-be assassins… He scratched absently at the raised scar-tissue on his chest. Diplomacy. Guh.

The shower's water beat down hard on his shoulders. He had been offered a luxury suite for the night, one that was big enough for an entire team to fit into; and indeed, his teammates were currently setting up their own beds a few feet away. He could hear them rummaging on the other side of the bathroom door, their voices a calming murmur in the distance.

As pleasant as it was to be in their company, they'd also seen fit to remind him of tonight's events. Events that would necessitate formal clothing. _Formal clothing_, of the kimono and yukata kind. He suppressed a shudder and ran his hands through his hair. He'd already washed it twice; a clear sign that he'd spent far too long under the shower already. He wasn't even washing himself anymore, just procrastinating. With another deep sigh he turned off the water and towelled himself dry.

He threw an anxious look at the garments laid out on the chair in the bathroom's corner. White and red, like the Hokage robes. Sakura had also left out his mask ("Whoops, I must have forgotten it! So sorry, I suppose you'll have to go without!") but Kakashi had come prepared. He grinned and fished the one he'd worn earlier today from the floor, quickly putting it and the attached sleeveless shirt over his head.

The kimono was admittedly rather elegant, with faint silver print on the white fabric and red lining in the sleeves. The kanji for 'Rokudaime' was on the back. He looked at it for a moment and couldn't help but think it was not unlike walking around with a bull's eye on his back. Wonderful.

He dressed himself reluctantly and exited the bathroom.

Shikamaru was already there, dressed in a similar forest green outfit with the Nara clan symbol on his back. He looked startlingly mature in this new outfit, and it took Kakashi a moment to remember that he had officially been the Nara Clan Leader for almost two years now. He and Tenzou were the only ones who would be accompanying Kakashi to the Hokage's dinner; Shikamaru as clan leader and Tenzou as ANBU commander. He'd wanted Sakura to be there as well, but despite her fame she had no official ranking or position that would require the Daimyo to invite her.

Kakashi smiled at Shikamaru and ran a hand through his still wet hair. Almost immediately Sakura popped up from the adjoining room, a brush in her hand and a determined look on her face. She pointed at the bed. "Sit, Sensei!"

"Ahh.. Why?"

"Your hair. It looks like a bird's nest."

"It always looks like that."

"Exactly my point! Now sit down and let me try to brush it. I bet it's filled with tangles."

Knowing Kakashi's luck, it probably was. He looked at his student's determined green eyes and knew better than to refuse. He sighed once more and sat on the bed. Sakura clambered onto the bed to sit on her knees behind him, and began to pull the brush through his hair.

"Agh," There were indeed a lot of tangles. The brush pulled painfully at his roots and Kakashi's eyes watered.

"Have you _ever_ brushed it..?" Sakura's voice sounded rather astonished. "And- what did you do with it, anyway? Even when it's wet it's still standing up,"

"..Good genes?" Kakashi tried.

"Messy ones, you mean." Sakura tutted. "I suppose it's a lost cause to make it look neat, but I'll at least get the gnarls out for you. It wouldn't do for you to look like a tramp,"

"..Thanks. Yamato, stop laughing."

"Sorry, sempai."

* * *

Dinner proved to be about as useless as the earlier meeting with the Daimyo. They were seated at a long table, Kakashi at one of the heads and the Daimyo at the other. The sides were occupied by Shikamaru and Tenzou, who was seated directly to Kakashi's right, Miho-hime, and a number of other nobles who had been introduced but whose names Kakashi had immediately forgotten.

The Daimyo was still staunchly avoiding all topics related to politics which, Kakashi mused, rather reflected his style of government. He hoped the Daimyo had an advisor of sorts, or perhaps even a general. Someone who knew what was actually going on and could actually get the Daimyo to do some work for once.

To be fair, this dinner hadn't actually been meant for political discussions. He'd just been hoping for more exciting conversations than the newest fashion or whatever kind of architectural form was up and coming. At least Tenzou seemed to be entertaining himself, but Shikamaru looked every bit as frustrated as Kakashi felt.

The door opened and a few servants came through, carrying some kind of exquisite wine. Kakashi wasn't particularly interested in it, but at least he'd thought of another way to entertain himself. His plate was still filled with food, after all, and he'd caught several of the nobles throwing curious glances in his direction. Clearly they were part of the increasingly desperate group of people who wanted to see his face.

He smiled as everyone's heads turned towards the door; perfect. With practiced movements, he lifted his bowl with one hand, tugged his mask down with the other and poured the contents of the bowl down as quickly as he could. With a quick burst of chakra the food went down faster than it had any right to go. It felt slightly uncomfortable to have one's oesophagus widen forcefully, but years of practice had prepared him for it. Besides, it was more than worth the astonished looks when the others finally turned around. With another tug on his mask to cover himself up again, he placed the bowl back on the table. The soft 'tap' of the ceramic hitting wood drew his table mates' attention.

He had been right; aside from Tenzou and Shikamaru's slightly exasperated and disappointed looks, the others looked positively shocked.

The Daimyo pointed a faintly shaking finger at him. "You've.. you've already finished?"

"Ahh… It would seem so," Kakashi smiled, but regretted his actions a little as the food landed in his stomach; the portion had been big and felt heavy and uncomfortable. All that effort for an old joke.

To his pleasant surprise, the Daimyo burst into laughter. Great heaving wheezes escaped from him, his shoulders shaking violently. Kakashi raised an eyebrow. He hadn't thought his habit was funny to anyone but him.

The Daimyo wiped at his beady eyes with a finger to get the tears out of them and started to clap. "Quite marvellous, Kakashi-dono," He tittered. "Very amusing,"

And that was that, it seemed. The Daimyo's pretty wife blinked a few times in confusion, and her raised eyebrows made it clear her own opinion on the matter was quite different from her husband's; it occurred to Kakashi that slurping one's dinner down in one go when the Daimyo is host hardly seems like proper conduct, let alone simple manners. With one prank he'd just convinced the Daimyo's wife that he was an utter barbarian. Perfect.

A trickle of sweat went down his temple, but he wiped it away. The room felt a lot warmer than it had a moment ago. What a woman's disapproving stare could do to you, it was quite unbelievable.

He listened as Tenzou cleared his throat and started a slightly forced conversation on the topic of growing bonsai trees. Miho was surprisingly interested in the topic, leaning forward a little to ask Tenzou questions. Shikamaru was rolling his eyes; clearly he thought the topic should return to politics.

Kakashi couldn't help but agree. He opened his mouth to address the Daimyo once more when a sharp, stabbing pain went through his stomach, forcing his mouth closed. One hand grabbed for his stomach instinctively- but there was no kunai embedded in his gut, or a senbon. His eyes scanned the room and his free hand reached for his kunai. The pain ebbed away slowly.

There were no presences in the room other than the people he could see, and not one of them had gotten up. Or, in fact, noticed what had just happened. They were still eating and chatting.

He cleared his throat, successfully this time. "Mahh, Daimyo-sama-" Another stab of pain, and this time it didn't disappear, though it did weaken a little. This wasn't normal.

The Daimyo looked at him expectantly, a dumb little smile playing around his weak mouth. "Hmm? Do you have another trick to show us, Hokage-sama?"

"I-" Another stab, more severe than the first. It was becoming difficult to keep his face straight. "I would like to be excused for a moment," He managed. Tenzou frowned at him, dark eyes flitting over Kakashi's face. The food. It had to have been the food. But Chouji had made it- the saké, then? No- he'd barely had any.

Kakashi rose as fluidly as he could manage and immediately placed a hand on the table to steady himself. "Too much saké," He smiled, but the room swam around him and there were black splotches at the edge of his vision.

The Daimyo laughed, of course. "Even a man such as yourself must answer the call of nature!" He waved a dismissive hand and started a conversation with his wife, who was still eyeing Kakashi curiously.

Kakashi looked across the table at Tenzou and raised one hand, flashing a quick ANBU sign. Tenzou paled considerably, but to his credit he did not instantly jump up. Instead, he cleared his own throat calmly. "Shikamaru-kun, would you accompany the Hokage? He looks like he could use a bit of fresh air,"

Good. Tenzou could stay here and keep the Daimyo busy. Shikamaru could- The next spasm of pain cut off his thoughts. Yes, it was definitely getting worse. His knees were starting to feel weak.

Shikamaru opened his mouth as if to protest, but a quick shake from Tenzou's head silenced him. He nodded and stood up, making his way across the room towards Kakashi.

Kakashi smiled pleasantly as the pain slowly began to spread through his torso- his lower back was starting to feel like it was on fire and his hands and feet began to tingle. Still, he managed a nonchalant wave at the Daimyo before turning and leaving the room.

Once in the hallway, Kakashi quickly looked around- sensing chakra was becoming difficult and his breathing was too unfocused for him to still smell for other presences, but he had to take the risk. "Shikamaru," He began, trying to stay calm. "I'd like for you to get Sakura,"

Shikamaru's brown eyes were narrowed in worry; he'd always been a clever boy. "What's wrong? Why did we have to leave this suddenly?"

Kakashi swallowed thickly and swayed on his feet. The wall suddenly seemed a lot more accommodating than it had before. He leaned against it heavily. "Because I've just been poisoned,"

**AN:**

**Thank you for reading! Please let me know if you enjoy it:)**


	2. Mind Games

By the time they reached Sakura, Kakashi was leaning heavily on Shikamaru's shoulder. Walls seemed to tilt as they went past them and the overhead lamps were blinding in their intensity. His head pounded. His knees felt weaker with every step and he wasn't sure how much longer he would remain conscious at all. It had been two minutes now. Whatever kind of poison this was, it was working _fast._

"Kakashi-Sensei, we're here," Shikamaru announced tensely. He looked about as pale as Kakashi felt but his shoulders were strong and steady.

"Sakura!" Shikamaru called out as he opened the door. "Sakura, Kakashi-sensei has been poisoned-"

And then there were hands everywhere, supporting Kakashi and moving him into the room. He clenched his eyes shut against the pain still raging through his system and allowed them to lead him through the room. His knees hit the edge of the bed, making him lose his balance and topple over. He instinctively curled his arms around his stomach, the area that hurt the most.

"Careful!" Someone cried out.

Kakashi pushed himself up with his arms, but found they shook from the effort.

"What the hell happened?" Genma asked. His voice sounded far away. The mattress below Kakashi sounded so soft, the blankets so warm.. He was starting to feel sleepy.

Someone slapped his face. "Kakashi-sensei! You have to stay awake!" Sakura. There was an undertone of steel on her voice that automatically made Kakashi obey. He forced his eyes open and saw his team standing around him. Sakura was sitting on the bed next to him, face pale with worry.

"Sensei, I need you to tell me where it hurts and how it feels, to identify the poison." Sakura said tersely.

"Kgg- burns. Chest. Stomach. Limbs. Head."

"Okay. I need you to move your hands away now," Small hands curled around his tense ones and carefully pried them away from his stomach. Kakashi grimaced, clenching and unclenching his fists compulsively.

Sakura placed her hands on his stomach and after a moment cool green chakra flooded into his system. He sighed in relief as the pain lessened briefly, but a sudden bout of vertigo made him tense up again. The ceiling above him seemed to be tilting to the left, and the edges of his vision were darkening.

"-Sensei!" Sakura's voice broke through the dark and the pain like a bell in the night. Kakashi forced his eyes open and saw Sakura and Genma next to him, both with glowing green hands. When had Genma picked up medical ninjutsu…? He had a feeling that he knew, but the memory wouldn't come to him. It was as if his mind had locked down, leaving only a sliver of consciousness stuck in the here and now without the ability to connect with the past or anything other than the horrific pain flooding through his veins.

He choked on a strangled cry when he felt something sharp in his thigh; Sakura had injected him with something.

"Generic antidote," She said curtly. "It's powerful, but I don't know how much it will be able to do. I've never seen poison like this before. It's some sort of new compound; perhaps if your system hadn't been flooded with so much at the same time, it wouldn't be like this, but-"

This time Kakashi really did groan. The prank. The damn prank. If he hadn't eaten so quickly the poison would have acted much slower. It would have given Sakura more time to figure out a way to stop it.

"Can't you pull it out of his system with water?" Genma argued. "I've seen medics do that- I can't myself, but _you_ should be able to-"

"That's just it," Sakura shook her head. "I can barely detect it with my chakra- that means it's not a liquid poison. I can't draw it out like that. Either we get the antidote, or…"

She didn't finish her sentence, but the temperature in the room dropped significantly.

"Well," Kakashi choked out. "I did.. kgg.. say I wanted a bit of.. excitement,"

Sakura's shoulders tensed. "Not like this." She said tersely. "Never like this."

Kakashi had to agree. Sitting behind a desk all day wasn't great, but it certainly beat being horrifically poisoned during what was supposed to be a pleasant dinner-

All rational thought was stripped from his mind by the next wave of pain. His limbs shook and his fingers curled into the sheets beneath him as he rode it out. He felt hands close around his ankles and upper arms, holding him down. He tried to focus on his breathing, then when it didn't work tried the endless ANBU torture mantra that had once gotten him through Itachi's Tsukuyomi.

_Hatake Kakashi, age 33, Registration Number 009720, Hatake Kakashi, Age 33, Registration Number-_

"I'm going to try something. Hang in there, Sensei," Sakura's steady voice drifted through. Oh, how that girl could stay so calm was truly admirable. Sakura ripped open his kimono shirt and pulled up the shirt underneath, baring his stomach. He had the brief, completely irrational thought that Genma ought to stop her and protect his virtue before he remembered where he was and what was going on. Then Sakura's hand glowed and he had half a second to recognize it as a medical sealing technique before his world was washed away in a wall of white light.

* * *

The world returned to Kakashi in a nauseating mixture of pinks, browns and purples. Blinking back at three worried faces hovering over him and estimating they were friends, not fish, Kakashi promptly rolled onto his side and vomited. Fortunately for him, experience and muscle memory forced his mask down moments before his stomach upheaved itself, which was a much more pleasant experience for everyone involved.

"Oh- we should have gotten a bucket," Someone said. The pretty sheets next to Kakashi were distinctly un-pretty now. He blinked again. Huh. He was still alive.

"Was that supposed to happen?" He heard Yuugao ask.

"His body is purging itself. The poison's already in his system but it doesn't hurt to get the source out."

Someone was stroking his hair. Huh. Kakashi tried to remember the last time someone had done so and couldn't find the answer. He blinked slowly and wiped at his mouth. His body ached, but it still responded to his cues. That was always a good sign. He rolled onto his back with a groan and felt thoroughly miserable.

The hand paused but did not lift off of his head. A wet cloth was pressed to his mouth and he gratefully reached out for it. He fumbled for a moment but managed to curl his fingers around it and clean his lips. His skin tingled unpleasantly, as it always did when he didn't wear the mask. He quickly pulled it back up. Who had seen…?

He opened his eyes properly this time, and saw Genma and Yuugao looking back at him with worried expressions. Yuugao quickly pulled her hand back and the warm pressure on his head disappeared. Well, they had already seen his face in the past; it didn't matter quite as much.

Sakura had her back towards him. He couldn't see what she was doing but he heard the distinctive sound of disturbed water. Sai, Shikamaru and Chouji were nowhere to be seen.

"Where is everyone?" He croaked. Sakura turned back and walked briskly towards him. She handed him a glass of water.

"Drink. You're practically dehydrated." She ordered. He knew better than to ignore her orders and carefully drank, trying to ignore the way his hands still shook.

"Err, about that.." Genma scratched at his head a little. "You were pretty much out of it but Shikamaru had a pretty good idea."

"How long has it been..?"

"An hour, give or take," Yuugao said. She stood up and smoothed her uniform down with well-manicured hands. "Shikamaru thought it pertinent that you would return to dinner before that,"

There was something in her voice- a dry amusement of sorts- that caught Kakashi's attention.

"I'm in a bed," He said. "How exactly does he expect me to return now?"

Genma smiled faintly. "Well, he said the quickest way to figure out if someone in that room was responsible for poisoning you would be to have you return to the room minutes after leaving it. That way, if anyone looked particularly astonished by your quick return.."

"They would have a guilty conscience," Kakashi finished. An excellent plan, worthy of the Nara scion. "Except that I wasn't exactly in a state to return." He raised an eyebrow. He had a sneaking suspicion of what was going on and he didn't like it one bit.

"Saihastransformedhimselfintoyouandtakenyourplaceatthebanquet," Sakura burst out. Her cheeks flooded.

Ah. Exactly as Kakashi had suspected. A brilliant plan, with one exception. "Sai…?" He managed.

Sakura shifted awkwardly and the smile on Genma's face widened imperceptibly. "Well- we thought- we thought he'd be able to emulate you.." Sakura trailed off. Then her face lit up. "And as former ROOT member he is immune to most kinds of poison!" She burst out, clearly happy to have thought of this more acceptable excuse.

Kakashi tried to imagine Sai, dear, clumsy, blunt Sai, wearing Kakashi's face and trying to interact with the witless Daimyo. "Well," He said drily. "There goes my reputation. _And _my good rapport with the Daimyo."

Though the situation did have some merits; Sai was a trained ANBU agent. He knew what to look for and was almost impeccable when it came to detecting lies.

Kakashi carefully propped himself up against the pillows and sighed deeply. Genma manoeuvred himself carefully past Kakashi and folded the dirtied sheets up with a grimace before taking them away to be cleaned. To his credit, he did not complain. Kakashi was grateful for it. The situation was embarrassing enough without Genma or anyone else discussing the contents of Kakashi's stomach.

Then again.. In this case.. "Sakura, what you said earlier.." He frowned and tried to remember one of the first things he'd heard upon awakening. His hand crept to his stomach. Though it was clothed again there was an odd burning sensation there, just underneath the surface. "You said the poison was already in my system. Does that mean it's still in there?"

She'd used fuuinjutsu. That suggested a worst case scenario.

Sakura's face fell a little. "I don't recognize the poison. It's in powder form. Your blood had already absorbed it by the time I came in. I managed to track most of it down and seal it in place so it won't be able to move around and damage your body. But it's a temporary measure," She grimaced. "If it was liquid I could simply draw it out, but if I tried that with this poison I'd also end up draining you of all your blood. We'll need a proper antidote, and for that I need to be back in Konoha."

A shiver ran past Kakashi's spine. The poison that Haruno Sakura did not recognize had to be one of a kind. "How long have I got?" He said soberly.

She glanced up sharply. "I'll find the antidote Kakashi-sensei, I promise you!"

Kakashi raised a hand. "I have no doubt that you will- but how much time do we have until I'll be in need of it?"

Her eyes glistened suspiciously and Kakashi regretted his words for a moment. Perhaps he shouldn't have been so direct- but no. She was a jounin now. There was no need to pull punches.

"I don't know," Sakura said, visibly recomposing herself. "The seal is strong but the poison might eat through it in no time. It could be hours or weeks. There's no telling."

"Okay. Thank you for being honest,"

She looked at him with an unreadable expression for a moment. "Just let me know if you feel any different, okay? I mean it. No sneaking out or hiding injuries, Kakashi-sensei!"

He sighed a little, but managed a faint smile. "I promise. Thank you for taking care of me." He carefully stretched his arms and back and tried to make it look as supple and nonchalant as he could. "I feel a lot better already,"

Sakura stuck her tongue out at him. "If you didn't look like an old person with back problems just now, maybe I would believe you," She teased. She got up and walked over to her bag. "I took some of your blood, just so you know. So I can investigate it back home. We are going back home soon, right?"

Kakashi frowned a little and leaned back into the pillows. The others looked at him expectantly. Right. Hokage. He was still expected to make the decisions.

"First, we'll need to figure out who's responsible. As much as I hate to say it, if the Daimyo is behind it it's practically a declaration of war," Kakashi said gravely. "He is our first and foremost ally and yet I'm poisoned in his dinner room. I'm not exactly jumping for joy at the prospect of a civil war for my own sake but we do need to get to the bottom of this. If someone thinks they can poison me they might be equally threatening to Konoha."

It was strange, even after a year, to consider an attack on him an attack on Konoha. But it was one of the things Tsunade had drilled into him: that he was no longer just an individual, but the living representation of Konohagakure. Every insult or attack aimed at him was an insult or attack on Konoha. Needless to say, he'd had quite a few sleepless nights after she'd told him this.

He looked at his three companions, brow furrowed. "Every accusation we make needs to stay in this room until we have conclusive evidence. Do not under any circumstance let your suspicions slip. Konoha shinobi accusing the Daimyo of a murder attempt on the Hokage could be catastrophic."

The others nodded. "Understood!" They chorused, recognizing it as an order.

More than that, Kakashi couldn't help but wonder whether this would be the only attempt on his life. Was there an assassin out there, waiting for a chance? This time it had been through poison, which was remarkable in its own right. Chouji wasn't exactly the evil assassin type, which meant that someone had snuck past him and gotten the poison into the food somehow.

"Has anyone seen Chouji since all of this happened?" Kakashi continued. "He was in charge of the meal, so if anyone knows what happened it would be him."

"Surely you don't think _he's_ responsible?" Gemna said sceptically.

"No, but he did prepare the food and saw who served us. A lot can happen in between the kitchen and the dinner hall."

Yuugao nodded and stood up. "I'll go look for him."

Kakashi nodded and she disappeared from the room.

"That said, sensei, we should get you to Konoha as quickly as possible. Perhaps the others should stay here to investigate, and then you and I can go to the hospital-"

"Well, I'd usually agree with that. Except we don't know who did it or whether they might try again." Kakashi explained. "So while everyone investigates the assassin in question could come after the two of us and kill us both."

Sakura sighed and sank into the chair next to the bed. "I don't like this one bit. We're supposed to be at peace, not dodging assassins left and right." She gestured helplessly. "No matter what we do we still end up in danger."

"I guess it's just the whole world leader thing," Kakashi said dryly. "But even if I die someone else will just step up and become Hokage in my stead. Naruto is young, but he wouldn't do a bad job if Tsunade helped him out. He'd grow into it."

Sakura looked uncomfortable, but if it was because of his nonchalance or something else, she kept it to herself.

"Maybe it's personal." Yuugao suggested. "Or maybe they'll go after Naruto as well. Everyone knows he's going to be your successor. Maybe it's a coup,"

Kakashi sank deeper into the pillows, silently reviewing his actions as Hokage so far. He didn't think he'd done a bad job.. Certainly not bad enough that someone might want to depose him. He was working on changing the policies for orphans so they would no longer be left to fend for themselves, he was working on special programs for traumatized veterans.. all the while sending shinobi out on missions to earn money. Konoha was doing well. _Kakashi_ was doing well.

He wasn't naïve- there would always be people who didn't agree with him or disliked him as a person. Danzou came to mind. It had always been that way and he didn't think it would ever change. But over the years he had come to think that the majority of the village at the very least _respected_ him.

Perhaps he had been wrong. Perhaps there were people within the village who weren't fooled by the reputation. People like Kakashi himself, really. He was more than aware he was not a great person. He had failed, murdered, messed up..

He'd certainly never expected to be made Hokage, although he'd known for a longer period of time that Konoha held a distressing level of respect or admiration for him. He'd never quite understood where this appreciation for his person came from, but over time he had come to rely on it.

Just like his father had, before it all went down the drain.

Kakashi shivered a little. He was getting tired, that had to be it.

"So.. Sai, huh?" He drawled.

He leaned back into the pillows, exhaustion drawing over him like a thick blanket. "I suppose.. we'll have to hope for the best.."

His eyes closed slowly and he fell into a deep slumber

* * *

_One hour earlier_

Moving around was peculiar in a body that was a good few inches taller than his own. Sai shook out his longer legs for a moment, figuring out his new body's centre of gravity. It was not an exact copy of Kakashi, of course; even with the Transformation technique one could really only copy that which they could see. Everything below the fake illusion-dress robes was still Sai's.

"So remember, keep your eyes open," Shikamaru murmured next to him. "Whatever happens in the first five seconds could provide us with vital information,"

Sai nodded absently. Of course. As Shikamaru had already told him this twice, he hardly needed more reminding. "I am well-versed in the ways of interrogation," He said. "Even one as subtle as this,"

Shikamaru's eyes widened and his mouth did an odd thing, his lips curling back and teeth showing. A grimace? Sai remembered seeing the pictograms, but it was always harder to recognize on a real face.

"Just as long as you don't question them openly. That sort of thing could lead to diplomatic problems," Shikamaru said. "It's troublesome enough that this happened in the first place, we don't need to add a civil war to the count,"

Sai nodded. "It is good Sakura came along. Hokage-sama would certainly be dead without her." He said. His voice was quite calm, but he felt his brow furrow in concern. He had been part of team Kakashi for four years now. It had only taken him one of those four years to acknowledge that he had come to care for the team's other members.

Three days from now was Friday. Friday meant team Kakashi day. For almost two years now, they always met up on Friday for dinner and company. If Kakashi died here there would be no evenings spent eating and laughing together. Or even if they did, it would always be tainted by the one empty chair at the table. Sai's fingers twitched. That was simply not allowed to happen.

"Yeah.. And that he noticed it in time to get out of the room. I wonder what lie Yamato came up with to keep them occupied." Shikamaru said, breaking through Sai's thoughts.

They turned the corner and walked towards a large double door.

"We're here," Shikamaru said. "Remember, be in character."

"Channel Kakashi-sensei, yes." Sai said, and promptly slumped his shoulders. His stomach fluttered nervously. "And it's a good thing the Daimyo is as ignorant of politics as I am," He added.

Shikamaru chuckled and pushed the doors open. Inside, they were presented with a surprising image: Yamato, one hand outstretched and balancing a tree branch, and the Daimyo and his vassals staring in fascination as the tree branch randomly spouted leaves left and right.

Yamato's lips were pressed tightly together and his free hand tapped impatiently on the table.

"Ah," Sai said. "Yamato is showing off his party tricks again,"

Next to him, Shikamaru pinched the bridge of his nose.

The occupants of the room turned towards them at once, startled by Kakashi's voice.

"Ah, Hokage-sama!" The Daimyo stood up immediately, arms spread wide. "I hope you got some fresh air. Dessert will be here soon. Please, sit!"

Sai smiled back. At his side, Shikamaru's eyes went through the room, inspecting each face quickly for signs of surprise or guilt. Yamato's tree branch fell on his plate with a loud clatter, and his eyes were wide as he looked at Sai. Sai raised a hand into the air and smiled a little bit wider. If he could, he would try to reassure Yamato.

"Mahh," Sai said in his best impression of Kakashi. "I'll go sit again, shall I? But I'm a bit queasy, so if you don't mind I will skip dessert. The last meal didn't sit so well with my stomach,"

His smile widened. He let his eyes wander over the Daimyo and his vassals, observing every face carefully for tells. Most of the guests seemed perfectly relieved, but the Daimyo's wife was a bit paler under her make-up than before. Sai turned his face toward her and his smile widened. Her dark eyes widened.

_Now then. Who will blink first?_

* * *

Kakashi woke up when the door opened and Yuugao entered the room. Chouji was leaning heavily on her, a hastily improvised bandage wrapped around his head. Kakashi blinked hazily. His head was still a bit clouded, but it didn't take as much effort as before to push himself upright. "What happened?" He asked hoarsely.

"I found him unconscious in the store room," Yuugao said. "_After_ I broke the door down. It was locked."

Sakura, who had still been sitting in the chair, jumped up and rushed to their side and together the two women helped Chouji sit down on the bed. Kakashi pulled his legs up to give them some more room, but fortunately it was a large bed. Too large for a single person, really, but rich people seemed to draw comfort from that.

Chouji groaned a little. "I did lock it," He said. "But someone came in anyway. I don't understand- no one should have been able to. It was a locked room."

"How would you get the food to the servants if it was locked?" Genma asked. He'd been working on seals on the windows that would keep possible intruders out. While working he'd run his hands through his hair several times, and it was now sticking out in every direction.

"I was going to unlock it and take the food to them myself, but whoever it was took everything and delivered it to the servants instead," Chouji groaned.

"Did you get a look at whoever did it?" Kakashi asked.

Chouji looked up as if he had only just noticed Kakashi was present. "Kakashi-sensei? Shouldn't you be in the meeting? Why are you in bed-"

Chouji paused. His eyes widened as he took Kakashi in. Kakashi tried to picture what he looked like right now. Pale, probably. Drawn and tired. Not like the perfectly healthy man he had been a few hours ago, when Chouji last saw him.

"What happened?" Chouji exclaimed.

"Ah, about that.. I had a bit of a run-in with an unknown type of poison during dinner," Kakashi said. "Bit of a stomach ache,"

"Poison?" Chouji's mouth fell open. "Are you alright? Is- oh no- is it my fault? The man who did it-"

"Take a deep breath, Chouji, it's not your fault." Kakashi said. "I'm alright for now, thanks to Sakura. But we don't know who's responsible. I have no doubt it was whoever knocked you unconscious and took the food. Did you get a look at them?"

"No.. One moment I was alone, the next I felt a chakra spike behind me. I turned around, and.. It's like he could walk through walls." Chouji trailed off. "I'm pretty sure he was a guy, at least. And he had black hair, I could see that much.. And.." He looked up carefully at Kakashi. "Scars over the right side of his face."

"How many shinobi do we know who look like that and can walk through walls?" Genma said quietly. Then he paused, and as one all the heads in the room turned towards Kakashi. There had been a man like that, a few years ago. A man who had had a serious grudge against Kakashi at one point in time.

Judging by Chouji's expression, he had had the same thought.

Kakashi went cold. His stomach flipped unpleasantly. "No." Kakashi said. "He is dead."

"But.. Sensei, you have to agree. The only person capable of phasing through objects and people- through walls, arguably, was-"

"Uchiha Obito is dead." Kakashi said. He was ridiculously relieved by the calmness of his voice.

The air in the room felt tense all of a sudden and Kakashi wanted more than anything to leave. "It has to be someone else, with a similar technique," He said. "We need Ino to take a look at your memories, Chouji. She might get a clearer image."

Sakura gave him a worried look.

Kakashi gritted his teeth and pushed the blankets off of himself. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He had had enough of sitting here, being stared at- he had to get up and move, do something to figure out what had happened-

His knees buckled and suddenly Genma was there, strong hands keeping Kakashi upright. "Easy there, boss. It's too early for you to be running around." He said.

As if that wasn't humiliating enough, Kakashi's stomach took that moment to growl loudly. Usually they probably would have laughed, but now there was just a painful silence. It didn't take an awful lot of imagination to figure out what they were seeing. Kakashi had looked weak just now. He bit his own lip. "Alright, alright, I'll go sit. But not for long. And someone should get me some food."

The others paled a little "Ahh, about the food thing, Kakashi-sensei,"

Kakashi sighed deeply. "There's a nutrition bar in my backpack. I can assure you it has not been meddled with.

Several people sighed in relief.

* * *

Sai, Yamato and Shikamaru returned about half an hour later. Yamato was looking vaguely queasy, which was quickly explained after he told them an elderly vassal had taken a shine to him and insisted on sharing her food with him.

Sai transformed back into himself with a bang and a puff of smoke. "Well, it wasn't very eventful," He said. "I didn't eat of course, and I looked at all the faces. The only one who showed surprise at all was Miho, the Daimyo's wife."

Shikamaru nodded. "Her response was definitely shifty, but she kept a straight face for the rest of the dinner, no matter what we asked her. She's definitely the one to keep an eye out on, but I think it would be wise to screen everyone in the room eventually."

Chouji told them what he had seen, not meeting Kakashi's eyes as he described the man who had knocked him out.

"Well, I'd say it's unlikely, but we've all seen the Edo Tensei technique. We can't just dismiss the idea," Shikamaru said, and the others agreed. Even Kakashi had to admit there was sense to it, but on the other hand..

Obito had died as his friend. No matter what had happened in the years in between, they had parted as friends. Even if Obito had been brought back to life, Kakashi felt sure that Obito's grudge had died on that battlefield. Though if it really was Edo Tensei, someone else could be controlling him..

But then the number of people capable of using Edo Tensei could literally be counted on one hand.

He pondered on it some more.

"Hokage-sama, shall I send word to Konoha? We may need reinforcements," Sai asked.

Kakashi looked up again, thoughts interrupted. "Ask for Yamanaka Ino, Sai. She's the person we need right now."

Sai nodded and immediately pulled out his scroll and special ink from his backpack. His ink messages were incredibly useful in these kinds of situations: they did not require live birds to be sent, and if anyone other than the recipient tried to intercept them the ink would fall apart and destroy the message.

Sai made a few practiced, unbelievably quick strokes and then a small bird popped up, the message curved around its legs and body like a living tattoo. Sai opened the window and the bird flew off.

They all watched it go for a moment. Whatever would happen next, this was the first step.

* * *

_Several Hours Later.._

Uzumaki Naruto was not pleased. As he strolled through the street he pushed his hands deep into his pockets and kicked at a rock. He supposed it wasn't fair to take it out on an innocent pebble, but there was only so much he could do when his entire team was out of town and _not one of them had thought to tell him_. Noooo, he had to find out at the mission desk. _Great._

He'd gotten used to the fact that even if Sakura wasn't there, he could always go to the Hokage tower and catch up with Kakashi-sensei. Sakura was usually hard at work at the hospital or doing a mission, but at the very least Naruto always knew where she was. As for Sasuke, he hadn't send Naruto a messenger hawk in weeks. Not much hope that he'd pop up for a friendly spar.

Hanging out with his other friends was a good alternative sometimes, but it didn't beat meeting up with _team 7_. For all intents and purposes, team 7 was family.

So now he was aimlessly wandering through the streets, looking for something else to entertain him with. He supposed he could go train.. But he'd rather overdone it yesterday, and his chakra still felt a bit sore.

_Don't suppose you've fixed that yet, ehh Kurama?_ He asked his only constant companion.

The Kyuubi growled. Even though they were friends now, Kurama would always have an impressive temper. _Stop rushing me, Naruto!_

Naruto pouted. _It's just that you're usually quicker about it. Are you.. having performance issues?_ He grinned mischieveously as he imagined the fury on the Kyuubi's face.

Kurama didn't say anything. Naruto stopped walking and his smile widened. _What? Oh, did I hurt your feeeelings? Are you going to hide from me now and have a hissy fit?_

Given the lack of response, yes, Kurama _was_ going to have a hissy fit.

"Uhhh. I give up!" Naruto flung his hands into the air, frightening a nearby civilian, and crashed onto the nearest park bench. He leaned back and looked up at the sky above him. Maybe he should take up cloud watching. Shikamaru seemed to enjoy that…

A tiny, black and white bird rushed overhead. Naruto recognized it immediately. "Sai..?" He pushed himself up and ran after it. It was moving _fast_. That meant it had to be some kind of important message. And wasn't Sai with Kakashi-sensei and Sakura right now?

Naruto chased after it and quickly jumped up onto the rooftops to avoid the bustling crowds in the streets. The bird was heading west, to the merchant's area.

Naruto frowned as he saw where it was headed. Yamanaka's Flower Shop. Nowadays, it was run by Ino and one of her cousins. _Why is it going there..?_

He quickly dropped to the ground, landing nimbly and rushing to one of the back windows as the bird swooped in. He carefully peered over the window sill and watched as Ino picked the bird up and took it to the backroom. There, she lightly touched it with her fingers and the bird sprang to life again.

"Attempt on Hokage's life," It said in a scratchy voice. "Your presence is requested immediately. Daimyo's palace. Yuugao will lead you."

Ino gasped softly, and below the window Naruto's stomach dropped. _Attempt on Hokage's life.._

The blood drained from his face. Well. At least he now knew what he would be doing with his afternoon. He jumped up to the roof and rushed to his apartment to grab his things.

This afternoon, he was going to bring the Daimyo a visit.

**AN:**

**Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. I'd like to thank all the lovely people who reviewed the first chapter, it was great to get such a warm reception.**


	3. Pigs and Pugs

"**You know, the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts, they alter the facts to fit their views, which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that needs altering."**

**The Fourth Doctor, Doctor Who.**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Pigs and Pugs**

* * *

The guard towers of Okibi loomed over Naruto. He leapt down from the treeline and stopped in front of the entrance, frowning a little in concentration. His chakra cloak glowed brightly in the falling darkness. There wasn't a single person in this city who could sneak up on him now, not while he could feel their chakra signals stretched out before him; the thousands upon thousands of dim civilian chakra systems, weak and untrained, only made it easier to pick out the shinobi signals.

There were a few chunin level ninja in the towers. Naruto could feel their chakra spike as they spotted him. He heard shouts and two jounin level signals came from a nearby building, alerted by the cries. None of them were familiar so he continued to look for the bright and cold rumbling chakra he associated with Kakashi. He found Sakura's steady, warm chakra first.

He smiled a little. They were in the centre of the city, where the palace had to be. Sai was there too, his erratic chakra pulsing in the darkness in a way that told Naruto he currently had a jutsu activated. Naruto nodded to himself and dropped his chakra cloak, ignoring Kurama's disappointed rumble. The jounins from before were already heading towards him.

"Hey there!" One of them cried out, a woman with steel-coloured hair and an eyepatch. "State your name, rank and business, shinobi!"

A few of the chunin came up behind the jounins, their eyes wide. "Hey, isn't that-" One of them murmured.

Naruto nodded at them. In any other situation he'd have smiled, but he was here for business. "Uzumaki Naruto, jounin, I'm here to see Kaka- the Hokage," He said. "I heard about the attack,"

The jounin blinked. "Attack? What attack?"

"There's been an attack?" A small redheaded chunin exclaimed. "We haven't heard a thing!"

"Ehh? I heard K-the Hokage was attacked, so I came straight away! Don't tell me that was a prank-"

The jounin shook her head. "We haven't heard from the Hokage or their party since their arrival- if there was an attack they've been keeping it under wraps. But if they asked for _you_ to come here, it must have been serious,"

Naruto's face heated up. "Well, they didn't specifically ask for _me_, but.." He rubbed the back of his head and improvised. "I'm part of team Kakashi, so I was supposed to come anyway!"

Better hope they fell for that- they did. The woman nodded. "I'll take you there right away. Ibuki, you take charge here while I'm away," She told the other jounin. "I'll send a message when I know more."

The other jounin saluted and ordered the chunins to go back into the tower.

"My name is Tomoe, Naruto-san. I'm the head guard and the one who led Hokage-sama to the palace earlier. There were no signs whatsoever that there would be an attack, and everyone seemed relaxed. What did they say had happened exactly?"

Naruto shook his head grimly as they jumped onto a nearby roof and quickly made their way through the city. "They didn't really say anything other than that there had been an attack. I'm as much in the dark as you guys. But if something really happened to Kakashi-sensei, then I have to be there,"

" 'Sensei..?' Ah- that's right, you were his student."

"Yeah. We're a team. We have to stick together," Naruto smiled a little and balled a fist. "Even if he's Hokage now, we'll always be team 7."

"He must be happy to have such loyal subordinates," Tomoe said. "I only met him once before this, but he was only a child at the time. He's grown a lot,"

Naruto thought about the masked boy he'd seen in Obito's memories, the boy who'd always followed the rules and bad-mouthed anyone who didn't conform as well. "Yeah, he's changed a lot." He said fondly.

"The palace is around the corner," Tomoe said, changing the subject. Naruto could already see it, its dark silhouette outlined by the lights of hundreds of lanterns hanging from the walls. Wow, it'd be a pain to be the guy who had to light all of those, but it looked absolutely beautiful. Maybe when he was Hokage he'd make them do something similar for the Hokage Mountain. Turn it into a genin mission, like catching cats and plucking weeds.

Tomoe wasted no time talking to the guards, but immediately led Naruto in until they were near the guest quarters. "I can't go any further in, but it's not far from here." She said. "Just go to the right and follow the hallway until you get to a wall decoration of a bonsai tree. There you go the left until you find a green door, and that's it."

"Uhhhh, right, bonsai tree, green door. Okay. Thanks, Tomoe-baa-san!"

"Baa-san – what..?"

Naruto ran into the hallway before she could say anything else, his heart racing in his chest. If Kakashi had actually… died- or if he was doing really badly, surely they would have said so in the message, right? They'd have asked for medics, not Ino. Why _had_ they asked for Ino, anyway? She was part of the Torture and Interrogation squad. Had they already caught the guy who'd done it?

Naruto clenched his eyes shut. "Hmmmm." Too much thinking. It didn't make any sense. Who'd want to attack Kakashi anyway? And who could even get close enough to him to try? Kakashi was always on guard, even when he looked relaxed- not even Naruto could sneak up on him.

_Doesn't make him immortal, kid._ Kurama said. _You should already know that, after Pain did him in._

"Oh, shut up," He did _not_ need reminders of that day, not now. "I saved him back then, I can do it again."

A chuckle. _I don't doubt it. _Kurama said.

Naruto grinned. "C'mon old fox, I know you like Kakashi-sensei too, even if you won't admit it. We find him, kick some bad guy's ass, and go home safe. How about that?"

…_Sounds good to me, Naruto._

Naruto spotted the bonsai tree decoration- man, couldn't she have told him it was incredibly ugly?- and rounded the corner, only to run almost directly into Kakashi's back.

"Wha-" Naruto narrowly avoided throwing himself face-first into the red 'Rokudaime' symbols on Kakashi's back and landed clumsily on the ground.

"Naruto? What the hell are you doing here?" A familiar voice said.

"Ehh, Shikamaru? I could ask you the same thing!" Naruto exclaimed.

Shikamaru pinched the bridge of his nose. He always did that, for some reason. "Because it's my mission to be here. Now why are you here?"

"Because of Kakashi-sensei! I heard about the attack- I had to come see!" He grabbed Kakashi by the shoulders and turned him around, inspecting him from up close.

_Ah-Naruto, that's not-_

Naruto ignored Kurama. Kakashi-sensei had a habit of hiding injuries. The best way to check was to see for himself. Arms, legs, chest.. Kakashi wasn't bleeding and all his limbs were still there. He didn't seem hurt at all! Relief crashed over Naruto like a wave, until-

"Ah- are you finally going to admit you're in love with me, dickless?" Kakashi said.

What. What.

"Ehhh? What the hell! Why would you say something so- Sai-ish!"

_Well, I did try to tell you. Sense his chakra, Naruto!_

Naruto did. "Ah-" He pointed at Kakashi. "You're Sai! You're not Kakashi-sensei at all!"

Yamato-taichou seemed to come out of nowhere and clasped a hand over Naruto's mouth. "If you say that any louder our ruse is up! Come on, let's go back to the room!" He ordered Shikamaru and Sai, who nodded curtly and went through the hall.

"I'm sorry, Naruto. We'll explain when we get there, but right now I need you to be quiet-"

"Kakashi-dono was attacked?" A thin voice asked behind them. The ninjas whirled around to see a small man with a puffy face and large, stupid eyes, accompanied by a small blond servant. "But he looks just fine! Is that why you left to get some air earlier?"

"Daimyo-sama, it's not what it looks like-" Yamato-taichou tried, but the Daimyo interrupted him.

"Oh no, oh no! Attacked in _my_ palace! The disgrace! Oh dear, oh dear- we'll provide the best care possible, of course-"

"Daimyo-sama, if you'll permit me- we'd like to keep this under wraps for now," Yamato-taichou said. He sounded a bit like he used to when he had to explain something to Naruto for the third time during training. Naruto was glad the tone wasn't aimed at him for once.

"The attack is a secret for now. Kakashi-sempai is alright, but if people find out about this there could be problems. Please- if you could return to your usual business and not tell anyone, we would be much obliged."

The Daimyo nodded quickly, his head bobbing up and down fast enough that his hat wobbled a little. "Of course! A secret, yes- we must keep it a secret." He gave them a conspiratorial look. "You can trust me, of course, captain! And my trusted servant,"

The servant nodded slightly.

Guards," The Daimyo beckoned someone just out of Naruto's sight and a pair of guards appeared, both looking slightly flushed. "You can take me to my rooms now," The Daimyo said. "Miho-chan has already gone, so I'd like to go now,"

"Yessir!" The guards threw him a quick salute and then they disappeared as quickly as they'd arrived.

"This is bad.." Shikamaru said. "I wouldn't trust him to keep a secret if his life depended on it.."

"At least it seems more likely that he wasn't behind it," Sai contributed. "Although he wasn't really smart enough for that in the first place,"

"I don't understand what's going on. Who attacked Kakashi-sensei? And where is he, anyway?" Naruto said.

"Inside, I said!" Yamato hissed. "It's bad enough that the Daimyo knows about it in the first place, we don't want anyone else knowing,"

He steered Naruto through the hallway until they spotted a green door. Someone was whistling on the other side, and when they opened it they found Genma, lounging on the bed. The sheets were rustled but Kakashi-sensei was nowhere to be seen.

Sakura popped her head into the room from an adjacent room. "Ah, you guys are back! Ehh- Naruto?" She hopped further into the room, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "What are you doing here?"

"Never mind that, what's going on?" Naruto exclaimed. "Where is Kakashi-sensei?"

"Oh, he went to take a shower," Genma said. He sat up slowly. "He was feeling a bit better, so we thought it'd be okay."

Sakura crossed the room towards Naruto and gave him a relieved smile. "I'm glad you're here, though. We could use some help. Long story short, Kakashi-sensei was poisoned during the official dinner a few hours ago. I managed to prevent lasting damage, but.. well, we have no idea who administered it to his food. And worse yet, we don't have an antidote," She chewed on her lip. "I placed a seal to halt the process but I don't know how long it will hold. And when it breaks.." She looked down.

Naruto swallowed. Poison. That was.. that was horrible. Someone had tried to kill Kakashi-sensei in the most cowardly way possible. His mind conjured up an image of Kakashi bent over and coughing, but he pushed it away quickly. "But you've got an antidote back home, right?"

Sakura shook her head. "I've never seen anything like this poison. Not even Sasori's was like this. He's been in there for an awfully long time, though.." Sakura trailed off.

Next to them, Sai dropped his henge with a soft pop and rolled his shoulders. "Now I've been Kakashi-sama twice in one day," He said.

Naruto scowled at him. He hadn't quite forgotten Sai's earlier remark. "Why were you dressed up as him in the first place?"

"Well, the first time was to avoid suspicion when Kakashi-sama was poisoned. He couldn't just not go back to the official dinner," Sai said. "The second time was because the Daimyo invited me- Kakashi-sama- to a late night cup of saké."

Shikamaru sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Which was a nightmare," He added, looking thoroughly drained. "My theory is that he just wants to be able to boast to his friends that he hung out with the Hokage. Not that he'd need to, being Daimyo himself."

"But what it really came down to is that they made me do mokuton tricks," Yamato-taichou finished with a roll of his eyes. "I swear, if anyone asks me that again-" His eyes widened and his face contorted- Naruto quickly looked away. That look still gave him the creeps.

Naruto glanced at the bathroom door. The shower was still going.

"Genma-senpai, would you mind checking up on Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked. "Or you, Naruto?"

Genma went over to the bathroom and rapped his knuckles on the door. "Oi, Kakashi? Are you alright in there?"

The only sound was of rushing water. Genma frowned and knocked again. "Kakashi?"

Naruto's muscles tensed. What if the seal had already broken?

_Kid.. Use your chakra. The person in that room is.._

Naruto raised his hand in the Ram seal just as Genma opened the door. The special jounin stuck his head around the corner. "Kakashi..? Wha-"

Naruto's chakra flared as he stretched his senses.

"It's a clone," Naruto concluded, a mere second before Genma pulled his head back and said "He's okay-"

There was a brief silence as they processed the two different messages, then they turned towards the bathroom as one. "But then.. where is the real one?" Genma asked carefully.

"Err.." The clone's voice came from the bathroom. "Well, would you look at the time. I really do need to be off now- Bye!" Naruto lunged towards the bathroom to stop the clone, but it had already disappeared before he could reach it. He skidded over the wet bathroom tiles before he could stop himself. He groaned and looked up carefully. Above him, the bathroom window was wide open.

He'd done it again.

Hatake Kakashi had left the premises.

* * *

A few minutes' run away from the official guest bedroom, Kakashi winced as his clone popped. Damn, he'd been discovered. By Naruto, of all people- had Sai sent him a message too? Or had Naruto just.. pulled a Naruto, for lack of a better word, and found out somehow? That seemed like something he would do.

The ventilation shaft he was in was narrow, but large enough for him to comfortably move around in. He frowned a little and sat back on his haunches to think. He should have told the clone to reply to Genma, but for some reason the clone hadn't been as stable as his usual kage bunshins.

Well, not really 'for some reason'. He knew perfectly well why. His hand hovered over his stomach for a moment, before quickly moving it away again. He still felt a bit queasy from eating the nutrients bar almost an hour ago now, and he suspected the feeling wasn't going to go away. Not unless Sakura found an antidote, anyway.

Which only confirmed that his time was limited. And if he really did have a few hours or days left at most, he was not willing to spend it sitting in the Daimyo's guest bedroom like an invalid. His legs and arms were still strong, his head was clear; there was no reason not to participate in the investigation.

Well. Except perhaps that he was the target. But in that case, getting away from his team just meant there was less of a risk to their safety.

He shook his head. They wouldn't agree with that. Frankly, he wasn't sure whether he believed it himself; he'd always believed in the importance of teamwork. But he'd just had to get out of that room. Away from the fearful looks.

Back to the matter at hand. Kakashi shifted quietly, glad he'd gone through the effort of dressing in his uniform pants and shirt again. Once on his hands and feet he began to crawl through the ducts. It was lucky there had been one in the bathroom, all things considered. It hadn't taken him too much effort to climb up once the clone had helped out, and he'd even left the window open as a false trail. They'd think he had jumped out, when in reality-

Why _hadn't_ he just told them, anyway?

Well, it was too late to go back now. They'd be angry, for one thing. And the ventilation shaft was too narrow for him to turn around. He'd have to shuffle backwards, and how awkward would that be?

Now, how to find the Daimyo's chambers? It had been fortunate the man had been so vocal about where he was going- better yet, that he had also revealed his wife Miho was there as well, and that Kakashi had had the luck of being right above them at the time.

He'd managed to follow the Daimyo for a little while as he moved to his chambers, but at some point the ventilation shaft had diverted from the hallway and he had no longer been able to track the Daimyo's retinue.

And really, the trouble of ventilation shafts was that while you were in one, you couldn't exactly stick your head out to see where you were going. Chakra sensing was not much of an option either, what with the Daimyo and his wife being civilians with underdeveloped pathways. Not for the first time, Kakashi found himself thinking longingly of the Byakugan eyes.

But there was no need for jealousy- if you didn't have incredible eyesight or chakra sensing, that still left several other senses.

"Smell it is," Kakashi muttered, pulling a kunai from his left boot and cutting his thumb open. Moments later, the chagrined but familiar face of a pug looked up at him.

"Boss?" Pakkun looked around warily. "Where are we?"

"A ventilation shaft in the Daimyo's palace," Kakashi replied as he tucked the kunai back into his boot.

There was a moment of silence. Pakkun's frown deepened. "Do I want to know?"

"Probably not. Listen- I need you to smell out the Daimyo's rooms. I brought this-" He pulled out a letter the Daimyo had sent before the visit, and held it out before the pug's nose.

Pakkun gave him one more sceptical look before obediently bending his nose towards the paper and sniffing. "Hmm. 'S not easy. Lots of smells in here," He grunted. "But I think I'll manage. And you're in luck, too,"

Kakashi frowned. Pugs shouldn't be able to grin so maliciously. "Why?"

"You won't have to crawl backwards,"

"Ah. Lucky indeed."

The dog snorted in amusement. It was the closest thing he could get to laughing with his dog vocal chords. "Let's go,"

The ventilation shafts seemed to go on forever. Crawling through them had been boring enough when Kakashi had been alone, but now he was also treated to a particularly un-glamorous view- Pakkun's behind.

"Did you know your tail looks very strange if you look at it for too long?" Kakashi grunted, nose wrinkled in dismay. That was not the only bit of Pakkun that looked very odd if you looked at it for too long. Or if you looked at it at all.

The dog grunted back, not deeming it worthy of a reply.

"Are we at least getting close?" Kakashi tried.

The dog walked a little bit further. He could stand and walk with stretched legs, at least. Kakashi repressed the ridiculous urge to feel jealous of a tiny pug before he almost walked straight into Pakkun.

"Why did you stop?"

They had reached a crossroads of sorts- one ventilation shaft leading to the right, and one straightforward and then curving to the left. Pakkun had stopped in front of them, and now comfortably sat down in the middle. There was no way to tell from his body language which direction Kakashi ought to take.

"Because we're nearly there. But first I want you to tell me something," Pakkun said gravely. "When you became Hokage you promised me and the boys you'd stay out of trouble, yeah?"

Kakashi nodded reluctantly.

"So why exactly is it that you've now summoned me in a ventilation shaft in the Daimyo's palace- while you reek of poison and illness?"

Someone could have dropped a pin.

Oh. Of course.

"Pakkun-"

The dog shook his head. "No excuses. Just tell me- why are you here and not in a hospital bed?"

Kakashi sighed and dropped his head to avoid Pakkun's gaze. "Because I'm the Hokage. I'm supposed to be the strongest, but I'm not- I get poisoned at a formal dinner," He smiled wryly. "That's bad enough. I can't spend the rest of the day in bed,"

Pakkun's face softened a little. "Idiot. You have nothing to prove to any of these people."

Kakashi shook his head. "That's not it. I know their opinion of me is… way higher than I ever expected."

"So what, then? Who are you so eager to please?"

Kakashi chuckled. "No one. But there's at least one person in Konoha who doesn't think I'm suitable to be Hokage."

A growl. "Who? I'll bite them."

"Me."

Pakkun's eyes widened. "Damn it boss, you should know better than to go endangering yourself to prove you're a good Hokage! There's a reason no one else doubts you, you idiot!"

Kakashi shook his head. "That's enough, Pakkun. Just tell me where the Daimyo's chambers are."

Pakkun sagged forward a bit. "No fair, boss. I'm not done talking with you yet." Despite his words, he pushed himself back onto his paws and took the shaft to the left. Kakashi followed him carefully. From now on, they could no longer talk to avoid detection.

That suited Kakashi just fine. Things got way too personal way too fast.

The shafts rapidly grew narrower, to the point where Kakashi had to lie on his belly and tiger the rest of the way. Fortunately he didn't have to go too far before he heard a familiar voice below; the Daimyo.

Kakashi smiled a little, but he wasn't quite there yet. He pointed his right index finger at the steel below him and channelled pure lightning chakra into it. Once it glowed he pushed it against the steel- and then through it. He smirked and carefully drew a circle with his finger until he could carefully lift a circle of metal out. Rudimentary ninjutsu, but effective. He could now see dark shapes below him- the room was badly lit. Perhaps they were already preparing for bed.

"-is why I'm saying it doesn't really matter," Miho's voice drifted upwards, and one of the dark figures climbed onto the bed. "Either way the man behaved like a pig-"

"Miho-chan," The Daimyo whined. "He's a hero! No matter how he behaves-"

"And then that one-trick pony of his. Yamato? You'd think the man was a fighter, not a circus artist. We've seen his little live-botany trick often enough now, thank you."

"Miho-chan.. I thought it was fun,"

"You would," Miho replied, voice dripping with venom. "It was unbecoming of an official visit."

"A bit of informality now and then doesn't hurt!" The Daimyo replied, and for once Kakashi found himself agreeing with the man. "You know me, I'm not one for all the.. all the.." The second figure gesticulated wildly. "_Manners_. It was all drilled into me since I was a little boy, but now I am Daimyo so I can choose what I want to do. When we have children-"

"We're not having children. How often do I have to explain?"

Kakashi quirked an eyebrow. That was.. unconventional, for a Daimyo and his wife.

The Daimyo ignored her. "I have always made it a point not to force that sort of thing on my children, and look how they turned out!"

"Not as bad as they could be, I admit," Miho sounded reluctant. "But regardless of that, I suppose it should be expected from a Hokage. No matter his skills he is no noble. Nor was he raised as one. Is he even from a clan?"

Ah. Well. Kakashi had suspected the pig in question was him, but now it was confirmed. How very flattering. Next to him, Pakkun snorted softly.

"Ahh, no- Kakashi-dono is the only child of Konoha's White Fang. Prominent family, yes, yes, but very small."

It had been a clan once, a long time ago. But the only remnants were an ancient clan crest and Kakashi himself.

"At least if he had been a Hyuuga we might have expected something, but he's really nothing but a brutish warrior, isn't he?" Miho continued.

"Well, I don't think that's quite how shinobi work.."

"But essentially they are. Always fighting. I bet your 'Kakashi-dono' could fight before he could write."

Kakashi had been able to sign his name and write simple words, actually. Though admittedly his handwriting was atrocious to this day.

Miho's chakra flared in agitation. Kakashi tilted his head a little. In children, that was a sign they were capable of learning to become shinobi. In adult women.. But she couldn't be. For a moment he wished he had his Sharingan again, consequences be damned- just so he could see her chakra signature.

The figure he now recognized as the Daimyo crossed over to the room and started massaging the other's shoulders. "Now, now, my wife; either way they'll all be gone in a few days' time. Or maybe earlier, if what they said was true."

Miho tensed. "What did they say?"

"Why, that the Hokage was attacked!"

"What?" Miho said sharply. "_Attacked?_ I thought he- is he alright?"

"Oh yes, he was walking through the hallways. A bit pale, perhaps- oh, and that lovely Naruto boy was there too," The Daimyo said warmly.

"That explains it.." Miho said quietly. "When he came back into the room.. Never mind. We should sleep- it is late."

What had she seen or thought when Sai had entered the dinner room? Disappointment that her assassination attempt had gone wrong? Or.. Kakashi's frown deepened and without knowing it the tight control over his chakra slipped a little.

In the room below, Miho shot up like an arrow and looked directly at the small hole in the ceiling.

* * *

**AN:**

**Wow, thanks for the amazing reception and reviews:D**

**Quick note to Yuu101cutie: I did get your reviews! I love that you're already speculating about who is behind it, but of course I can't go into too much detail**** So I'll just say one of your guesses was sort of in the right direction- but you'll have to wait and see which one!**


	4. Miho-Hime

**Chapter 4. Miho**

* * *

And so Konohagakure's honourable Sixth Hokage, former ANBU Captain and General of the Third Division of the Allied Shinobi Armies, found himself forced to back-shuffle through the ventilation shafts.

It was, in short, the singularly most embarrassing thing he had had to do since reading Icha Icha Tactics out loud in front of other people. Yet when one discovers the Daimyo's wife is, in fact, a kunoichi, what choice does one have? Kakashi had instantly recognized the chakra spike for what it was. Only trained shinobi could do that, because civilians didn't generally have enough chakra to spike in the first place; and even if they had, they wouldn't have known how to.

There was the occasional occurrence of a child in a civilian district melting the knobs of a stove or blowing the laundry off of the lines, or other such incidents depending on their chakra nature, but children like it were closely monitored and usually brought into the fold of a shinobi village.

Meaning, Miho had to be from one of the ninja villages. Not Konoha, or Kakashi would have known about it. And if it was one of the major villages? What did that mean? A Kumogakure jounin sent to spy on the Fire Country´s Daimyo…?

The back of Kakashi's shirt snagged on a protruding nail as he awkwardly shuffled backwards. He hissed under his breath and had to free himself before continuing. It would be even more embarrassing if he came out with a tear in his shirt.

Besides, there was no point in speculating while he was potentially being chased by said kunoichi. Not that he couldn't beat her, but he'd rather not let her know it had been him. He tugged at his collar, squashing down the belligerent pride that had accompanied that thought. Not the time to get cocky; he knew nothing about her abilities.

He crawled on, hoping the T-split he'd used earlier wouldn't be too far off; he might be able to risk turning around if he made use of the extra room there. It would certainly be a lot more comfortable than shuffling around on his belly.

"Told you it was a bad idea," Pakkun said, as softly as he could. "But I don't think that lady is followin' us. Who is she, anyway?"

Kakashi shook his head. "Later. First we should return to the room- I have another job for Ino when she gets here,"

"Ino? Yamanaka Ino? Kakashi, _what_ is going on-"

"Not the time, Pakkun. Not the time," Kakashi grimaced as he wormed his body around another corner. He hissed as he banged his knee against the metal.

Pakkun snorted suddenly. When Kakashi looked up, the pug's face was contorted in amusement.

"I don't know why I bother bein' surprised, boss. You've always had a certain knack for gettin' into trouble, even as a pup. Your old man was always complainin' about it," He shook his head. "Alright, keep your secrets, then. Just remember- we're pack. Means you can't leave us out when somethin' big's goin' on. Just tell me when you're ready,"

Kakashi paused his contortions. "Thanks, Pakkun. I- thanks."

Once it became clear Miho wasn't following them, the trip through the vents went from suspenseful to uncomfortable and tiresome. By the time Kakashi reached the vent in his bathroom, he was once again covered in cold sweat.

Ah, he felt out of shape. This wasn't just from sitting behind a desk for too long, he thought as he dislodged the vent and carefully lowered himself down. He landed easily on the ground and held out his arms for Pakkun, who gave him a slightly affronted look, grumbled about not being a puppy who needed coddling, but then belied his words and leapt into Kakashi's arms anyway.

Kakashi put Pakkun on the tiles below just as the bathroom door opened.

"Ah- Kakashi-sensei! It's Kakashi-sensei, he's back!" Chouji exclaimed, one finger pointing at Kakashi.

"Ah- you lot noticed that, did you?" Kakashi said, completely unnecessarily.

"Kakashi-sensei, are you alright?" Chouji stepped forward with a furrowed brow, grabbing Kakashi's upper arms with his massive hands. Chouji was as tall as Kakashi was now, and it probably wouldn't be long before he'd be taller.

"I'm fine, Chouji," Kakashi sighed. "You can let go of me, I'm not going to topple over," Though to be fair, he wasn't feeling quite himself either. But the seal would hold. For now, anyway.

"Oh- right," Chouji released him. "Sorry. It's just that we were all worried- we thought the assassin was back, that he'd gotten to you! And the window was wide open-"

Behind him, other members of the team started to pour into the quest quarters. Like Chouji, they were all looking rather harried and pale.

Oh, great. Now Kakashi felt guilty. "Err, so.. I uhh, may have taken a walk around the block-"

"Are you insane?! Kakashi-senpai!" Tenzou cried out. "We were looking everywhere for you- we couldn't even sense your chakra!"

Ah. Right, because Kakashi had been repressing it to keep Miho from detecting him. Well. He hadn't been much of a team player today, had he? He pinched the bridge of his nose.

Sakura burst into the room and pushed past the others, a furious expression on her face. "Idiot sensei!" She said, bumping one of her fists against Kakashi's shoulder. Well- bumping- a bump from Sakura was like a punch from anyone else.

"We were worried sick, sensei!" She continued. "Where were you?" Her hands began to glow green as she hovered them over the seal, her chakra pulling carefully at it to check its strength.

To Kakashi's surpise, Naruto appeared at the doorway next. There was an uncharacteristic expression on his face; a slight frown and distant eyes."Naruto? What are you doing here?"

"I overheard a message. But I don't understand anything," Naruto said, with the most confused expression Kakashi had seen on him since he'd tried to explain the concept of rasen-shuriken. "Kakashi-sensei got poisoned but then escaped the room on purpose? Pakkun is here? The Daimyo did something..? Would someone just tell me what's going on? And why didn't anyone send _me_ a message?"

"Kakashi-sensei over here _did_ get poisoned, and badly too! And _then _ he thought it would be a good idea to _act on his own_ and _ignore all of the people who were worried about him!_" Sakura said, levelling Kakashi with a glare.

Ouch. Okay. That was fair, but painful. Kakashi absently rubbed the back of his neck. "If it's any consolation, I did make an important discovery," He said.

"And you were crawling through the ventilation shafts for what reason, exactly?" Tenzou added, arms crossed and a hurt expression on his face.

"That's what I want to know," Pakkun rumbled.

Kakashi looked from one to the other and sighed a little. _So much for my reputation.._

"Ah, we're still standing in the bathroom. Could we move to the bedroom? It's a bit cramped in here with all these people," He managed.

There was a brief pause. "Right," Genma ran a hand over the back of his head. "Perhaps you'd better sit back down, anyway,"

Kakashi managed to refrain from rolling his eyes. "I realize I shouldn't have gone out without telling anyone," He sighed. ('Damn right", Sakura muttered) "But I can't say that I regret it either. I may well have found an important clue; I discovered Miho-hime is a shinobi."

That got their attention, at least. "Miho-hime?" Genma echoed. "But she's supposed to be a civilian-"

Kakashi nodded. "That's what I thought. Until I felt her chakra spike and she suddenly looked straight at my hiding place," He ran a hand through his hair.

He reluctantly sat back down on the bed. Someone had put clean sheets on. That was something. Sakura sat down next to him and held her hands against his chest, pouring chakra into him for diagnosis.

"You don't seem to have gotten any worse," She said under her breath, her brow furrowing.

"I don't understand," Naruto said again, but the anger had left him and he just sounded sad and defeated.

Kakashi sighed. "There was an attempt on my life. Right now, the most likely suspect is.. someone who is impossible. Problem is, if we accuse the Daimyo of anything we might have a civil war on our hands. We need to be diplomatic,"

"Why did you send for Ino rather than me?" Naruto said.

Kakashi looked up at his former student and felt a pang at seeing the hurt in those eyes. He glanced over at Sakura, who looked much the same. The other people in the room looked vaguely uncomfortable to be witness to such a personal conversation, and frankly Kakashi could have done without the audience himself. He nodded at Yamato, who took the cue to wave the others out of the room.

"Come on, guys- we know as much as Kakashi-sempai now. Let's leave the three of them and do some investigations of our own, shall we?" He said. Kakashi gave him a grateful nod.

When all of the others had left, he looked at his students. "It's nothing personal, you have to understand that. You know I'd trust you both with my life a thousand times over. And I have, repeatedly, in the past," He managed a smile. "So trust me too, okay?"

"But it's like you_ don't_ trust us," Sakura argued weakly. "By doing all of those things on your own when you should be asking for help.. When you're hurt and sick," She shook her head. "And I know Naruto is not the most diplomatic of people, but he does want to know when you're in trouble,"

Naruto nodded fervently. "Yeah, yeah! And hey, I can be diplomatic if I want to!"

Sakura smiled a little. "I guess what I'm saying is.. We care about you, but that also means we need you to trust us to help,"

Kakashi hung his head. They were right, of course. But even so.. "I wanted to do _something._" He admitted, then looked away. That was enough of that. Tonight was not the time to start opening up his heart. It was better if he didn't. "But I'll remember it. Thank you. Just try not to worry too much about your old sensei, okay?" He smiled sheepishly.

Naruto snorted. "Like that's even possible, Kakashi-sensei. You're like the biggest trouble magnet in the world. If anything _can _go wrong, it will, when you're involved. We'll always worry about you, even when you're a hundred years old."

Kakashi's face fell. "Ahh.. How come it sounds like _you're _the adult all of a sudden?"

Naruto puffed out his chest. "Hey, I'm nineteen! I _am _ an adult!"

"In theory, sure." Sakura smirked. "But in practice.."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

Kakashi snorted in amusement at their antics. His stomach still felt uncomfortable, and his aching muscles clearly remembered the agony of earlier that evening. Yet somehow, he couldn't help but feel content, no matter what tomorrow might bring.

xXx

Kakashi didn't wake up until the early afternoon that next day, much to his chagrin. Susprisingly, the bedroom was empty for once. He gave an approving hum and stretched his body languidly.

Huh. It was like he hadn't been poisoned at all. He felt just fine. He lifted up his shirt and looked at the seal. It was pulsing a faint green, giving a sickly look to his pale skin, but it was clearly still doing its job. Good. The more time he could get, the better.

He took his time to get dressed and eagerly made use of his new privacy by wandering around the room bare-faced in search of clean clothes. He found a set of spares on one of the chairs, left there by one of his subordinates. He felt a spark of annoyance at being treated like a child, or worse, a patient, but on the other hand he realized there was a great deal of warmth behind the gesture. No matter how good a Hokage he would prove to be, he could be sure of one thing; his subordinates did love him, in their own way.

His lips curled up into a smile. He'd never expected that, not in a million years. Some good had come of his existence, after all.

After a moment's contemplation of how to spend the day, he decided to go out in search of breakfast. He opened the door and was almost thrown over when three bodies immediately tumbled in with it.

Naruto yelped loudly as he fell into the room, and Genma grunted when the younger boy landed on top of him. Sakura at least had the sense to look bashful when she spotted Kakashi's disapproving look.

"The three of you were sitting outside of my room all night, weren't you?" He said calmly. Now _this_ was just taking things too far, though his stomach was insisting on flopping around like a child who'd just been told it was his birthday. "And let me guess, there were others stationed at the windows too, weren't there?"

As if on cue, one of the windows slid open and Yuugao's head popped into the room. "We figured there might be a second attempt, Kakashi-senpai," She said curtly. "So we kept guard."

Another window opened and Yamato hopped up into the window sill, scratching the back of his head. "We thought if they would try to attack you, we'd be there to capture them. We also have Sai posted at the Daimyo's room to keep an eye out on Miho-hime."

"Hmm, yes- good thinking." Kakashi scratched at his chin. "Very good. Except, of course, if my would-be assassin entered through the ceiling," He pointed at it. "Or alternatively, through the vents that I used earlier. Or maybe they were in the room all along. Or _maybe_, the glass of water on my night stand was also poisoned."

Yamato paled a little. Naruto glanced suspiciously at the glass in question.

"Moral of the story," Kakashi continued. "If they'd wanted me dead in the middle of the night I doubt you guys would have stopped them. And then they would have run into my most loyal protector: me." He pointed at himself. "Basically, you're all being completely, ridiculously over-protective. Whoever it was used poison. I doubt they're suddenly going to change tactics and go for a full frontal assault if they didn't dare to do so in the first place,"

"But you're weakened. Perhaps they thought they could risk it now," Genma argued. The senbon in his mouth flicked up and down impatiently.

"I'm not that weak," Kakashi argued, frowning a little and letting his tight reign over his chakra loosen so they would be able to sense it. His chakra capacities were a lot bigger now that they were no longer feeding a starving Sharingan 24/7.

Genma swallowed visibly. "I didn't mean to imply that you are," He said. "You know I wasn't. But you're not quite yourself either. We thought it'd be best,"

"We all did," Tenzou agreed.

Kakashi sighed and looked around, inspecting each of his overly loyal subordinates in turn. His lieutenants, his subordinates and his students. _His_. And each and every one of them was infuriatingly stubborn. He shook his head and squashed down a rush of affection.

"Where is Chouji, anyway?"

"With Ino," Yuugao said. "She arrived about an hour ago. They're in the kitchens, where Chouji saw the poisoner."

Kakashi nodded. That made sense. It was good to know Ino was already here, hopefully she would be able to unravel a mystery or two. And also.. oh dear. He grimaced and went back into the room, turning left towards the bathroom and pulling his mask down just in time to vomit. Oh, _wonderful_. He hadn't even felt that one coming.

Someone placed small hands on his back and Sakura's calming chakra flooded into him. "I'm sorry, I should have warned you," She said. "The seal may stop the poison from killing you, but your brain is still aware the poison is there. Vomiting is the body's natural response to ingesting poison. You probably won't be able to keep normal food down in the upcoming days."

A glass of water was pressed into his hands and he took a few sips. "Thanks. I'm okay now."

Though when he really thought about it, it was disconcerting that he hadn't sensed Naruto, Sakura and Genma in front of his door, or any of the others near the windows. Somehow, he'd lowered his guard without realizing it. _Damn_.

He wiped his mouth with one hand, pulled his mask back up and straightened. Naruto was looking at him with a pale face and scared expression, so Kakashi forced a smile. "It's okay! I'm okay, I promise. Just dry food and liquids for me for a while,"

"Does it hurt?" Naruto asked.

"Throwing up? Surely you know-"

"The poison. Does it hurt?" There was a determined look in his eyes that Kakashi recognized all too well; that righteous anger Naruto seemed to have patented over the years. Anytime soon now, he'd be throwing a big and undoubtedly moving speech.

Kakashi sighed. "Not anymore, no. But there's no point in talking about it right now. If anything, we need to continue our investigations while giving off the impression that nothing's happened. Unfortunately the Daimyo is aware of what happened now, which I assume will mean his whole court will know by now," He grimaced.

"So the ball this afternoon will be.. interesting, to say the least," He finished. He could already picture the curious glances; did he look a bit pale? Was that sweat on his brow? Wouldn't it be so exciting if he collapsed mid-dance? Etcetera, etcetera.

Groan. Court gossip was one thing he'd hoped to never be a part of. Well, another discomfort that came with the job.

Suddenly, Sakura giggled.

Naruto and Kakashi gave her surprised looks and the tension in the room slowly dissipated. "What is it?"

"Oh, I just realized. Kakashi-sensei at a ball. Kakashi-sensei, dancing," She laughed again, and this time Naruto joined in with a terribly sadistic chuckle of his own.

Genma grinned as well. "I'm not sure he'll know how," He added.

"Oh, yes, _thanks,"_ Kakashi crossed his arms. "Just remind me of my impending doom."

"And all the ladies will want to dance with you," Yuugao said. "I've been told court ladies find shinobi very interesting,"

Exotic, more like. But then given the men they were forced to deal with, it wasn't so very surprising. Kakashi didn't think the ladies in question would be particularly interesting, though.

"Well. I hope they won't mind losing a few toes if they do," He said dryly, to the amusement of the others. "Though it can't be _that_ hard, given that most of them are middle-aged and out of shape. Mahh, Yuugao, I don't suppose you have a few tricks you could show me?"

One perfectly manicured purple eyebrow rose. "Because I'm a woman, senpai?" She said dryly. Sakura gave him a matching sceptical look.

Oh dear, tactical error. "Err- well, I meant-"

"I'm an ANBU officer, senpai. The only dance I know is the dance of swords,"

He rubbed the back of his head. "Right, sorry,"

She smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "Actually, I think Yamato-senpai knows a few tricks,"

Genma snorted. "Yamato?"

The man in question stuck his head around the corner. "Hmm? Did you call for me?"

Kakashi widened his eyes. "Ahh, the man of the hour!" He walked towards Yamato and grabbed him by the arm. "Please teach me how to dance,"

The astonished expression on Yamato's face was one Kakashi knew he would treasure for some time to come.

As it turned out, Tenzou _had_ known how to dance; an undercover mission a few years ago had required him to pose as the last scion of an ancient noble house, and dancing had been one of the required skills.

Learning together was awkward to say the least. Kakashi wasn't used to moving around in dress robes and kept trying to loosen them around his legs. In turn, Tenzou kept slapping Kakashi's hands away from his clothes, creating a rather comical image.

Apparently dancing at court was a fairly new tradition; back in the days traditional dancers would be hired to do the _bugaku,_ a slow and ritualistic dance performed on a stage. The new tradition of making all the lords and ladies dance had come from the west, and had been welcomed with a great deal of enthusiasm. Kakashi could only curse the westerners for inconveniencing him.

As Kakashi had expected, the dance itself was not particularly difficult. It didn't exactly require a lot of agility or stamina to sway in place while holding someone else's hand. All one truly needed was a sense of timing, and Kakashi had always had that. With that in mind, it was not unlike performing particularly simple katas.

And it didn't hurt that his stomach hadn't bothered him at all.

After about an hour of practicing, Tenzou ushered him into the bathroom. After a quick shower, he once again wormed his way into the dreaded dress robes (A new set, fortunately- it wouldn't do to smell of poisoned person at times like these) and headed off to the dance hall, where the festivities would be taking place.

Like before, Tenzou and Shikamaru accompanied him while Genma, Yuugao, Sai and Sakura were on standby and Naruto was sent to aid Chouji and Ino. Ahh, tiny comforts: Tenzou and Shikamaru looked every bit as uncomfortable in their formal dress as he did.

Well, at least he looked _good_. The white fabric was set off with red and black, providing stark contrast and a kind of look he could appreciate. If there had been frills, he probably would have hidden in a closet somewhere instead of showing up at the dance.

As they neared the dance hall's large doors, they could see people were already filtering in. The majority of them were couples of varying ages, all dressed splendidly but moving without the grace and ease of a trained shinobi. Kakashi hadn't been amongst civilians for so long. Not proper ones, anyway; the ones in Konoha were used to Shinobi and had learned to manoeuvre around them. These people were like a different species altogether.

They didn't pay him or his party much mind when he neared the doors, but one of the guards spotted him and, much to Kakashi's dread, bellowed: "His grace the Sixth Hokage of Konohagakure, Hatake Kakashi, and his retinue!"

Oh, dear _lord_. So much for not standing out. It was as if someone had lit a candle in a dark room filled with mosquitoes, and Kakashi was the candle. The mosquitoes were currently exclaiming loudly or studying him intently, or worse, rushing towards him with outstretched hands.

Within moments the trio was surrounded by strangers who wanted to greet him. He had to shake so many sweaty, shaky hands he was worried his hand might fall off, if he didn't die of infection before that. Some people seemed slightly intimidated and stayed behind their more enthusiastic companions, but the majority of people were simply irritatingly curious.

"Please, why don't we all go into the hall first?" Kakashi managed, smiling as charmingly as he could. "That way we can all have some breathing room-"

Or not. As they shuffled into the ballroom, Kakashi found it was already completely crowded. It was a beautiful room, certainly, but perhaps not quite equipped for such huge numbers. At the end of the room was a slight stage, where Miho-hime and the Daimyo were already sitting.

Well, first things first. "Come on," He said, and Shikamaru and Tenzou followed him like silent shadows.

They didn't have to try very hard to make it to the podium, at least. Word had spread of who they were, and people quickly made way when they approached. It seemed the nobility was aware that Kakashi and his retinue were capable of killing them with their little pinkies.

Not that it stopped them from gasping and staring at them as though they were zoo animals.

"Troublesome.." Shikamaru muttered, and the other two men nodded in agreement.

"Ahh, Kakashi-sama! Feeling better, I see?" The Daimyo stood up and stepped off of the podium to greet Kakashi, as a fellow head of state should.

The two men exchanged a slight bow and Kakashi followed Daimyo up the stage, where he took place next to the Daimyo. Yamato and Shikamaru were invited as well, and they gratefully sat down.

It was nice not to be in the crowd anymore. It was very easy for someone to hide amongst that many people. Then again.. Kakashi looked at Miho. She looked absolutely stunning, and was also doing her absolute best not to look him in the eye. She definitely knew it had been him, then.

The room calmed down as the novelty wore off, and soon only the chatter of old friends and acquaintances meeting up could be heard. The Daimyo looked mighty pleased with himself, and kept squeezing his wife's hand. She bore it with grace, occasionally smiling at her husband with what seemed like genuine affection.

Hmm. A good actress? Or was there something else going on? Kakashi turned back to inspect the room, looking at each of the people in it one by one to ascertain the threat level. There didn't appear to be any. He slowly formulated a plan.

After what felt like an hour but was probably closer to twenty minutes, the Daimyo stood up and briefly thanked his friends for coming over to celebrate his marriage. After a few more choice words, he waved his arms and the lords and ladies cleared the centre of the room as if by magic.

"I would dance myself, but I'm afraid my gout will not allow it!" The Daimyo smiled a little. "But I do hope you will all enjoy yourselves!"

In one corner of the room, a few musicians began to play a cheerful song. One particularly brave young lady pulled her lover with her and began to dance, and it wasn't long before other couples joined her.

Kakashi smiled. Time to execute the plan. He stood up and extended a hand to Miho. "My lady? Would you allow me this dance?" He glanced over at the Daimyo, who clapped his hands in apparent delight.

Next to the Daimyo, Tenzou was giving him murderous looks, but Kakashi only smiled at him. Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.

To her credit, Miho didn't give anything away. Her expression was just as stoic as before when she took his hand. Her fingers were cool and soft, but he felt the ridge of scar tissue on one of her index fingers. Typical injury for a child learning how to use a kunai.

Together they walked to the dance floor, where people once again made room for them. In the midst of the ballroom with other couples whirling around them, it was surprisingly calm. Like the eye of a storm, Kakashi thought, except with less wind.

Miho placed a hand on his waist and he did the same to her, before clasping their other hands together and joining in on the dance.

From the corner of his eye he saw Tenzou had also come down to the dance floor and had nervously asked a young woman to dance with him. Kakashi had no doubt Tenzou would have stayed up on the stage if he'd thought he could have protected Kakashi as effectively from over there.

He focused on Miho again, peering into her dark eyes and looking for any signs.

"I wasn't aware Kunoichi were in the business of marrying Daimyo these days," He said, keeping his tone down so only she would be able to hear it.

Her fingers tightened a little around his. "I wasn't aware Hokage's went sneaking around their host's homes at night,"

"Hmm, I had a mystery to solve," Kakashi said non-committally. "But you haven't answered my question. Why him? Is it for a mission?"

"Would you believe me if I said it wasn't?"

"No," He smiled and nodded at a passing couple. "I would not,"

A slight frown marred her features. "Are you always looking for mysteries to solve, Hokage-sama?"

"Not as a rule, no. But when I find my food's been tampered with and my Daimyo has married an unidentified ninja, then yes."

She laughed softly. "I see,"

"So where are you from? Kusagakure? I can't see any of the major villages doing this."

Another laugh. "If you know I'm a kunoichi, you should also know I will not answer you,"

They turned again and Kakashi saw another man coming towards them, a grin on his face as he looked at Miho. Kakashi frowned. Too soon.

"What are your intentions? Do you want to kill him, too?"

She laughed again. "He is my husband. Why would I want to? And who says I want you dead?"

"My lady," The grinning man said. "Could I have the next dance?" His eyes flicked over to Kakashi, who merely raised an eyebrow. Supposedly the man felt good about himself, stealing a dancing partner off of the Hokage.

To Kakashi's annoyance, Miho nodded. "Of course, Katsuo-san. Kakashi-sama," She placed her mouth next to his ear for a moment. "I do like you, whether you believe it or not. So I have a piece of advice: watch your back, Hokage-sama,"

With those puzzling words, she stepped back with a smile and let herself be swept away by her admirer.

Kakashi stood and watched her go with a slight frown. Watch your back, huh? Whoever she was, she certainly knew more about what was going on..

The rest of the afternoon was about as dull as he had expected. A gaggle of giggling young girls had come up to him and bravely asked him to dance, and so he had been obliged to dance with one after another for several hours on end, until he'd finally managed to escape by substituting himself for a clone.

He signalled Yuugao to let her know what was going on, and she nodded once in understanding.

Kakashi left the ballroom and leaned against the wall for a moment. He let out a deep sigh. His skin was clammy again and he felt nauseous. Not _again_. Of all the effects the seal couldn't block, it just had to be nausea-

He looked up. Quick footsteps to his left, but very soft ones. Too soft for a civilian. Thanking his sensitive hearing, Kakashi pushed himself off of the wall and out of reach just in time to avoid the scythe that embedded itself there.

A figure dressed in dark robes gave up on the scythe instantly and rammed a fist in Kakashi's direction. He blocked it with his forearms, then grabbed hold of the fist to pull the man out of balance and into reach. He brought up his knee to ram the man's stomach, but the man twisted out of reach and threw a kunai at Kakashi.

He ducked underneath it and slammed his hand into the ground, unleashing a simple earth ninjutsu that made the tiles underneath their feet shoot up at his attacker. The man grunted when one hit him in the shoulder, then back-flipped out of reach and raced through a number of seals.

He didn't get to finish his seals, apparently, because another tile hit him and no jutsu was activated. Still, Kakashi felt chakra shudder through the air and instantly brought his hands up to block the genjutsu he suspected had been unleashed. "Kai!" Nothing changed.

The man sat before him on one knee, panting slightly from the exertion. His eyes were covered by a burlap hood and a black face mask obscured the rest of his features. There were no other identifying markers.

The man shifted slightly and Kakashi prepared himself for the next attack. It came at immense speed; without the sharingan, Kakashi was only just able to retaliate in time to avoid being skewered, and they went rolling onto the floor.

All finesse went out of the window after that; there was no room or time for handseals, and if Kakashi used chidori from this close up he could undoubtedly kill his attacker, but he'd also destroy any chance of finding out why this man was attacking him in the first place.

So, punching and kicking it was. Closer inspection of the man's face revealed thick black goggles obscuring his eyes from view. Kakashi clawed at his mask in an attempt to pull it down, but had to give it up when the man punched him in the jaw.

He managed to land a few blows of his own, but it was difficult to put any real power into it from this close-by. Something glinted and he saw the knife in the man's left hand. _Oh no you don't!_

Kakashi grabbed the knife hand by the wrist and neatly turned them over so he was sitting on top of his attacker. Moving quickly, he pulled the man's mask and goggles off.

And froze. A familiar, badly scarred face with mismatched eyes stared back at him, practically snarling.

"No," Kakashi said. "You can't be,"

Obito snarled and made use of the confusion to gut-punch Kakashi. Something twisted in his stomach and Kakashi had just enough time to think 'the _seal'_ before his vision started to dim at the edges.

There was a shout around the corner. Yuugao. Obito's face seemed to blur and turn stark white, with strange red markings moving over the white like writhing snakes. The pattern seemed oddly familiar, but before Kakashi could give it any further thought, the man who looked like Obito disappeared into thin air.

The transformation technique? Had someone actually had the _guts_ to transform into Obito- Kakashi balled his fists and growled in frustration. It had almost worked, too. He'd frozen up like a newly minted genin.

Uchiha Obito hadn't returned from the dead to kill him, Kakashi was absolutely sure of that. Was he?

He laid his head back on the hard tiles, wheezing as he caught his breath. He was still alive. And someone out there was getting increasingly desperate to see him dead.

* * *

**AN:**

**Wow, sorry for the delay guys! Real life got in the way big time- nothing to worry about, just uni stuff, a broken down laptop, and the lure of a different fandom. No worries though- I will continue this story regardless of whichever fandom I may find myself in. I have too many ideas and headcanons not to use them!**

**I apologize for any mistakes I may have made.**

**As always, thanks for reading, I hope you liked it enough to leave a review!**


	5. The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

Sakura's hands glowed brightly in the dark hallway. Her face was pinched and pale.

"So, not great, huh?" Kakashi said. He'd finally regained his breath, but his body seemed to be aching all over.

He was half sitting, half leaning against the wall, a few members of his squad around him. They smelled of anxiety. Sakura in particular, but Sai and Genma, who were also there, weren't much better.

"The seal is no longer stable, Kakashi-sensei. Even if I were to place a new one over it, it wouldn't make that much of a difference." Sakura said quietly. "There isn't much time left before the poison eats through it altogether."

Kakashi was quiet for a moment as he considered his own mortality. "Well. I'd kind of hoped I wouldn't be the shortest-reigning Hokage ever. That's kinda lame, isn't it?" He managed a chuckle.

Sakura glared at him. "I haven't given up yet! We _will _find an antidote, and we _will_ find out who did this!"

Ahh, the folly of youth. Well, Kakashi supposed he should set a good example. He sighed. "Of course, Sakura. I'm not giving up on anything." Besides, he'd promised Obito.

"Good." Sakura's eyes blazed.

"How are you feeling?" Genma carefully placed a hand on his shoulder. "...Good to move?"

"Yep," Kakashi grunted as he got up. "I'm fine. We've got time."

"So.. mystery man realized he had not killed you and thus came after you in person." Sai said. "We cannot leave you out of our sight anymore."

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "I'm not entirely helpless. My chakra is unaffected. The only reason he downed me is because.." He frowned. "Well, let's say he outsmarted me. And that's a feeling I'm not used to," He scratched the back of his head.

The other exchanged a look. "How _did _he outsmart you, anyway?" Sakura asked. "It's not like you."

Kakashi shifted uneasily as they all looked at him. He was fortunate enough to be surrounded by a group of people who knew him- not all of them knew him particularly well, but well enough to see him with a healthy dose of reality. None of that Hokage-worship some of his subordinates posessed.

Unfortunately, that made it all the more painful when Kakashi had to disappoint them.

"He, uhh- made himself look like Obito." He admitted reluctantly. "Threw me off guard, but I'd have managed even if you hadn't shown up." Probably, anyway. He didn't want them to know just how much it had shocked him.

All of which was completely irrelevant right now. What was more relevant..

"We're going to need a plan," Kakashi said. "Otherwise it'll just be a wild goose chase - we can't fight our way out of this one without knowing who we're supposed to fight,"

He thought of Shikamaru as he said it. Even though Shikamaru was only nineteen, he was a master strategist and had gained something of a reputation in the field. If his involvement in the war had been greater, Kakashi was pretty sure the kid would have gained a nickname by now.

"A trap?" Sai offered.

Kakashi nodded. "Let's go back to my chambers, first. Someone alert the others; tell Yamato and Shikamaru to stick with my clone a bit longer, they're still walking around. Dancing even, if they're particularly unfortunate," He chuckled dryly. "I did see a few young ladies eye Shikamaru. Temari will be displeased,"

* * *

Naruto found Ino and Chouji in Kakashi's chambers. Chouji was lying on the bed with his hands folded over his chest. His eyes were closed and Ino had her hand over his forehead. Probably scanning his brain, Naruto thought, or whatever it was Ino did.

"Oi, Ino. Chouji," He said.

Ino jerked away from Chouji's body and almost fell over. "Ah, Naruto! You shouldn't sneak up on me like that! Look what you've done- I was just about to reach Chouji's memories of what happened!"

"Uhh, sorry," Naruto said, not feeling particularly regretful. "Anyway, _anyway, _Kakashi-sensei sent me to help you guys while he's off dancing, so here I am."

Chouji sat up. He looked a bit groggy and rubbed his eyes. "No offense, Naruto, but I'm not sure how you can help. This is Ino's area of expertise."

Naruto scowled. "I'm sure I can do something. I _want _to do something. I hate sitting still."

Ino sighed. "No surprise there. Just sit there, in the corner of the room. I'll try to describe what I'm seeing. Chouji, lie back down." She pushed her teammate's head back onto the bed.

Naruto grumbled a little and went to sit in the chair next to the bed. He wasn't made for sitting still. He wanted to be out there, beating up the bad guy.

_Would be a hell of a lot easier if we knew who the bad guy was,_ he thought. "Guess it's not always so cut and dry, huh.." He mumbled.

It'd almost made him miss Akatsuki. Simple and straightforward- just single out the guy in the black cloud patterned-cloak, beat him up and try not to die in the process. Not shady figures poisoning Kakashi-sensei like a coward.

"So, what are you seeing?" He grabbed the seat of the chair and leaned forward curiously. "Can't you broadcast it to me somehow?"

Ino snorted. "Like that would change anything. No. Maybe I could but I won't. You'll just have to listen- ah- got it,"

Chouji frowned a little.

"You're in the kitchens, preparing to take your food to the dining guests. There's.. something, that makes you turn around and then-" Ino frowned a little. "A figure. His face is white- no. No, it's a face. It changed, somehow, but I couldn't quite see what it looked like first. Now it looks like Uchiha Obito."

"Wait, what?!" Naruto jumped up. "Like _Obito?_ That's impossible!"

Ino took her hand away from Chouji's forehead. "They really didn't tell you anything, did they?" She sighed.

_Seems unlikely Obito'd have anything to do with it. He's dead as a doornail_, Kurama rumbled.

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto agreed with his bijuu. "He's dead- he's been dead for two years. Why would you think it's him?"

Chouji slowly sat up and exchanged a hesitant look with Ino. "Naruto.. are you really sure that he's dead?"

Naruto nodded. "I'm sure. " Obito's skin cracking up and falling apart, his body giving away like paper maché. It must have been excruciating, but Obito hadn't shown any sign of pain. "He.. his body fell apart. There was nothing left of him. But even if he was somehow still alive, there's no way he'd want to hurt Kakashi-sensei. I'm absolutely sure of that."

Naruto hadn't forgotten Obito's last words to him either, and knew he never would. He wasn't sure what exactly had happened after that, just that it somehow involved Obito's chakra and Kakashi suddenly having _both _of Obito's eyes. Kakashi-sensei had never told them what had happened, but Naruto was sure there had been more to it than Sasuke, Sakura or he could guess. All Naruto did know was that you wouldn't go and give someone your super powered eyes if you wanted them dead.

Ino sighed. "That's what Kakashi-sensei seemed to think, too. So.. alternatively, I guess it could be someone pretending to be Obito. Though why he would do that is another question altogether."

She stood up from the bed and smoothed her skirt down. "Either way, we should go and report to Kakashi-sensei and the others."

Naruto squinted at them. "So we're just going to sit around and not do anything? For all we know this guy is running around in the castle! We gotta do something!"

He crossed his fingers together and gathered his chakra. "Taijuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Nothing happened. Naruto spluttered indignantly.

_"Think for once, would ya?" _Kurama grumbled. So _he _ was responsible for killing off Naruto's clones?

"What the hell did you do that for!? I was going to- don't look at me like that, I'm talking to Kurama- I was going to find the bad guy!"

"_It's not that simple. Whoever this wannabe killer is, they're clever. Cleverer than you, at any rate. If he's trying to kill with poison, how likely do you think it is he's walking around with a sign around his neck that says 'I'm trying to kill the Hokage', huh? You're not familiar with this kind of situation, Naruto!"_

"And what, you're some kind of super detective?"

Ino and Chouji exchanged a look. Naruto ignored it.

"_No, but unlike you I think before I act...Most of the time, anyway." _Kurama chuckled.

Naruto scowled. "Let's just go and find the others, okay?"

He paced towards the door and opened it. There was a thud and a groan from the other side; as Naruto pushed the door open further, he saw Sai sitting on the ground fingering his nose.

"Oh- Sorry, Sai," Naruto said sheepishly, and extended a hand to help his friend up. He looked up to see Kakashi-sensei, Sakura, Genma and the purple haired woman (Yuuhi? Yuurei? Yuuga-something?) were there as well, and he grinned. "I was just about to go looking for you!"

"Now you no longer have to," Kakashi drawled, and pushed past Naruto and into the room. "Situation's changed. Miho knows more than she's letting on, but I don't think she's guilty. Other than that, we've got some maniac running around the palace pretending to be Obito."

He pointed at Ino. "What did you see in Chouji's memories?"

Ino stammered, slightly overwhelmed by the sudden entrance. "I- like you said. Someone who looked like Uchiha Obito."

"But something else underneath, right?" Kakashi fired off another question. "Something white and red- now what does that remind you of?"

"Face paint..?" Ino offered hesitantly.

"An ANBU mask," Sai said.

"Yes," Kakashi pointed at Sai. "Exactly what I was thinking."

Naruto's mind was racing. "Hang on- So it's not Obito, right? 'Cause he wouldn't, and- and he's dead, so he can't."

Kakashi nodded and turned towards Naruto with blazing eyes. "You knew him better than anyone else in this room, except for me. You agree that he wouldn't,"

"Yeah, of course he wouldn't- you were his friend, even in the end." Naruto managed. Kakashi-sensei seemed off; he was never this... present, this energetic.

_He's on full alert, kid. Someone's tried to kill him twice, and he's still got poison flowin' through him. _Kurama offered. _Adrenalin does crazy things to a man._

Kakashi smiled, unaware of Naruto's internal dialogue. "Thank you. Someone who believes me. Though the idea of it being an ANBU mask is disturbing to say the least," He ran his hands through his hair, making it stick up even more and giving him a crazed appearance. "I'm pretty sure ANBU is loyal to me- no, I'm absolutely sure. So.."

"Another illusion?" Genma offered. "To throw you off of his track again."

"It seems likely- but why? Just making me see Obito would be enough,"

"A costume, then? Used by a mediocre genjutsu user."

Naruto looked from one to the other, feeling like he was watching a tennis match.

"Could be- to place blame on the ANBU and divert the attention from whoever the hell he actually is. But the key to all of this is Miho, I'm sure. She told me I should watch my back, so she knows _something._ I need to figure out who she really is."

Kakashi-sensei moved towards the door, but Sakura grabbed his arm to stop him. "You shouldn't. You're ill, and I need to examine you further. Let someone else go in your stead."

Kakashi-sensei looked like he wanted to argue, but then sighed. His shoulders drooped and his earlier energy seemed to seep out of him. "Okay. Okay, then someone else has to go. Someone she hasn't met yet, someone who is good with people-"

Kakashi-sensei turned around and looked at Naruto. He tilted his head a little.

"Yeah. Of course. I'll go," Naruto said immediately, getting up. "...Who is Miho?"

* * *

A few minutes later, a red-haired young man walked through the doors of the ballroom, his blue eyes flitting from left to right. He fingered his dress clothes, as though he wasn't quite used to wearing them.

A young woman came up to him and battered her eyes. "Hello- would you like to dance, mr...?"

"Err- Minato. And-sorry, but I really have to see someone else," The young man pointed at the crowds, where the Daimyo's beautiful wife was spinning elegant circles. A man was leading the dance, but he seemed to disappear next to Miho's stunning figure.

'Minato' gave the girl an apologetic smile and made his way over to the dance floor.

The real trouble, Naruto thought underneath his new red _Henge _haircut, was that he had no idea of how to dance. Nor indeed of whether approaching this Miho lady in the middle of the ball was a good idea. But then that's why they'd come up with this particular ruse, wasn't it? He wouldn't actually _have_ to dance, fortunately.

Kakashi-sensei had said that getting Miho alone would be nigh impossible, so they'd come up with a different tactic. The idea was really rather simple, but Naruto wasn't really sure why _he _had to do it.

"Err- Miho-san?" He said awkwardly, stepping closer to the dancing couple. She wasn't dancing with her husband- shouldn't she? Weird. Weird lady, but- wow, _pretty._

Old, of course, Naruto added when he pictured Hinata's hurt expression. But _pretty_.

Miho's eyes met his. Her face was utterly impassive, a pale mask with red markings, her eyes dark pools that gave away nothing. Naruto gulped. _Well, here goes nothing.._

He rushed towards the couple with a burst of chakra, grabbing Miho around the waist and slinging her over his shoulder. People screamed all around him, but he ignored them and ran towards the exit.

He yelped as something sharp and cold was stabbed into the back of his thigh.

_She stabbed you. I'm on it, keep running! _ Kurama roared.

Naruto gritted his teeth and limped on as fast as he could. He could feel blood trickling past his thigh, followed by the familiar feeling of muscle knitting back together. He shifted his hold on Miho so he could face her better. She cried out and aimed a knife at his chest. He barely caught it with one hand and twisted her wrist in the process.

Something snapped and Miho cried out again. Naruto mentally apologized to her.

_Fixed your leg. Get outta here._

Naruto nodded. In front of him were two civilian guards aiming their spears at him. Naruto leaned forward and out on some real speed, flashing past them before they even saw him coming. Then he disappeared altogether.

* * *

Miho's eyes fluttered open slowly.

Kakashi crossed his arms over his chest. They were in a dark room. It wasn't large, but large enough that the people standing behind him would not be visible to Miho.

"Sorry about the rough kidnapping," He drawled when he saw awareness return to her eyes. "But I wanted to talk to you properly, and couldn't really think of another way to do it."

"Ever heard of asking politely?" Miho muttered. Her voice sounded rough. "What do you want?"

"You know what I want. Information."

Miho chuckled. "I don't think my husband will appreciate his wife being kidnapped by the Hokage."

"Good thing he'll never find out, then." Kakashi raised his eyebrows a little. "After all, if his wife were to tell him that, I'd have no choice but to reveal the unfortunate truth; that his wife is actually an undercover kunoichi who has been spying on him for as long as they've been married. The poor Daimyo would be heartbroken, and the traitorous wife would be executed."

He smiled. "As you can see, I'm not really worried about what you might tell him."

Miho's smile faded. "You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into."

"Then tell me," Kakashi leaned back, forcing his body to relax. The pain was constant now, though not near the levels it had been before. He could still suppress it.

Miho shook her head. "I would, but I can't. Like I said; watch your back."

"Why can't you? Is someone threatening you?"

Miho chuckled. "Something like that."

"Where are you from? Iwa?"

Miho's lips curled up but she didn't say anything.

Kakashi tilted his head and sighed. "Alright... Well. I'd just like to remind you we have a Yamanaka here; if you really are a kunoichi, you know what that means. And there's always good old-fashioned torture."

"If I tell you, I die. You need me alive so you won't torture me to death. And as long as I live, it beats the alternative of what happens when I speak. " Miho rattled off. Her breathing was uneven; she was scared, then, but more scared of whatever mysterious force was behind all of this.

"And don't bother with your Yamanaka, it won't be any help." She snarled.

"Well. We'll decide that." Kakashi beckoned over his shoulder, and Ino appeared at his side. "Go ahead, Ino."

Ino nodded and placed her hand on Miho's head. Miho didn't protest.

Kakashi frowned and waited. Ino's chakra flowed into Miho.

A few minutes went by unacknowledged until Ino resurfaced. "There's a huge block in her mind," She said. "It's a seal of sorts, but I've never seen anything like it. Either way, I.. can't get past it."

"Told you," Miho mumbled. "I know things, yes; but it's not the info you really want, I promise."

"Then tell me what you _do_ know." Kakashi leaned forward and looked her in the eyes. "Who wants me dead? And why?"

"I'm not involved," Something vulnerable crept into Miho's voice. "I swear I'm not. But I know who it is. Or strongly suspect who it is, anyway. I haven't had any dealings with them since before my marriage."

She met his eyes. "I know it's hard to believe, but I really am here as the Daimyo's wife. I.. was planted here, yes; but that was a long time ago, and the person who sent me here is long dead. I am here of my own volition now. It has nothing to do with you."

"Why were you surprised when I returned to the room, after I was poisoned?"

"Because I knew it wasn't you; I'm a decent sensor, I can recognize your chakra. It was one of your goons, who's hiding in the shadows right now."

"And that's how you knew I was above your room yesterday."

"Yes. You dropped your guard. And your chakra is all over the place anyway, your control isn't great. That's because you lost that eye, isn't it? I've heard the stories."

Kakashi leaned back again. It was true he wasn't quite used to dealing with as much chakra as he had these days, but he hardly thought his control was _bad._ It wasn't as if he had Naruto-level chakra capacities either. It was just more than he was used to, and if he didn't quite suppress it as much as he should sometimes, well.. it was easily explained.

Even so, most shinobi wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Any chakra presence of jounin level or above was equally oppressive and overwhelming to your average chunin level shinobi. They could rarely distinguish.

"You're a good sensor, not just a decent one. And you had a knife on you when you were taken. Naruto complained about it."

"Naruto? I was kidnapped by the 'savior of our world'?" Miho said mockingly. "Oh, wonderful. I should have known from that bizarre chakra he was sporting."

"You're a high ranking shinobi. I'd say close to jounin level. Tokubetsu?"

"Close, but not quite. I told you, I can't tell you anything else, even if I wanted to. That block on my memory? It's not just there to look pretty."

"I'm guessing it will kill you if you talk, correct?"

"Yes."

Ahh. ANBU did fit the pattern, but Kakashi knew each of his operatives personally and trusted them with his life. All remaining ANBU Root members had been assimilated by ANBU if they were deemed trustworthy enough, and imprisoned if they were not. It was a red herring."So whoever sent you anticipated that you might be interrogated. This was a _mission_." He stated.

"To marry the Daimyo, yes- to kill you? No. I'm not saying he liked you but he didn't think he had to kill you either. Not back then, anyway. And now he's dead, so he can't be behind it."

Tricky. Someone who knew him, though; chances were that meant Kakashi knew this mysterious 'he' too. Except that he was dead, so what was the point?

"Who is this _he-_ no, don't tell me; the seal is blocking that, too." Kakashi narrowed his eyes a little.

Miho smiled. "Bingo."

Kakashi slowly stood up. "So, basically, I won't get anything out of you." He sighed. "Well, I guess I'd better let you go, then."

"Kakashi-sensei, you can't-"

"I can, and I will. Ino, help me with these ropes. We're going to make a triumphant return with the poor kidnapped bride and get some goodwill in the process."

He smiled at Miho and lifted her over her shoulder without another word. Miho shouted several muffled profanities into his back, but he ignored her.

* * *

As expected, the Konoha shinobi were celebrated as the heroes of the day after they 'saved' Miho from her kidnappers. The Daimyo in particular was pathetically grateful and a completely oblivious to Miho's badly hidden annoyance.

Kakashi managed to sneak away from the party after a few minutes. This time, he was accompanied by both his students and Tenzou. Tenzou was a bundle of nervous energy and it wasn't hard to predict that he'd blow up in the face of whoever talked to him first.

Kakashi sighed and distracted himself by stretching out his senses. He felt Yuugao above them, and Sai a little bit behind; faithful shadows keeping him safe from the unknown threat. For the first time, he actually felt slightly comforted by the extra protection. He wasn't sure he had the energy to protect himself.

Once they were alone, Kakashi felt free to speak again.

"I was hoping we'd get more answers out of Miho, but frankly all we've done is raise more questions." He lamented.

At his side, Sakura looked thoughtful.

"What's on your mind?" Kakashi asked.

"Well.. If they were using Obito's appearance to distract you.. Doesn't that mean they know you? Like, well enough to know he _could_ distract you?" She asked.

Tenzou nodded. His shoulders were raised awkwardly, another clear sign of his agitation. "It seems a lot like a personal vendetta. Can you think of anyone who'd want to hurt you?"

"Good thinking," Kakashi sighed again. His skull felt as if someone had stuffed it with cotton instead of a brain. Maybe it had been scooped out along with his sense of dignity when he'd learned how to dance earlier that day..

Well, probably not. But it didn't make thinking any easier. He really, really wanted to curl up in bed with a good book in his hands. Icha Icha Tactics, for example, or Paradise, for old time's sake.

"I can't really think of anyone in specific, off the top of my head. I have plenty of enemies, but none with abilities like the ones we've seen so far."

"I can't imagine any of the major villages going after you. You're on good terms with all the kage's, even A-sama." Tenzou contributed. "And the minor villages wouldn't dare. So.. I think Sakura is right. It _is _personal.

"Well, at least we can rule out the Daimyo from the list of suspects," Kakashi said. They turned a corner and the smell of people and food finally became a bit less obtrusive. The others probably couldn't smell the party at all at this point.

"So.. what do we do?" Sakura said.

Kakashi ran a hand through his hair. "We go home. If this person really wants me dead, they won't stop trying until I'm six feet underground. At least in Konoha we can properly defend ourselves and even set up a trap for them.. I hope."

"Not to mention we can get you into the hospital," Sakura added primly.

Kakashi groaned and pouted at her. "Do I have to go to the hospital?"

"Only if you don't want to die, sensei."

"Death might be preferable to intrusive nurses.. They always line up when it's time for sponge baths; how many times do I have to tell them I can do that myself..?"

Naruto chuckled. Sakura gave him an unimpressed look. Tenzou just rolled his eyes.

Well, at least someone laughed at his joke. If the constant burning in his limbs and torso was anything to go by, Kakashi wouldn't have much to laugh about anymore in the days to come.

**Author's Note:**

**This page had some html issues- thanks to Howard H. for letting me know! It should be fixed now.**


	6. Bad Reputation

**Chapter 6. I Don't Give a Damn About My Bad Reputation**

* * *

The group left Obiki City with as much fanfare as they'd arrived in. Even more so, once the public realized Naruto was with them as well; there was seemingly no end to the amount of people who wanted his autograph, and Naruto being Naruto wanted to oblige every last one of them.

"Always a bigger fish, huh?" Genma tapped Kakashi's elbow lightly and pointed at Naruto's admirers.

Kakashi smirked. "He's welcome to it, really. And the more they're looking at him, the less they'll look at me. I could try to get a bad reputation. Maybe I should growl at the next person who talks to me."

Tenzou's second eyebrow rose to the same level as the first. "..Why?"

Kakashi pointed at Naruto, who was currently surrounded by a group of teenagers clamouring for his attention. "So I never become that person."

Genma laughed and playfully punched Kakashi's shoulder.

Kakashi patted his arm. "Don't do that, it makes me seem far too likeable," He said dryly.

"Maybe you should pretend to kill me, then," Genma pulled a fresh senbon from his belt and placed it between his lips. "Would make a good show."

"Ahh, I think we've already given them enough of a show," Kakashi scratched the back of his head and slumped back into his usual pose. He hadn't even had the energy to make a clone to escape all this ruckus. Keeping his back straight for more than a few minutes was really far too much effort. He put his hands in his pockets and wished for Icha Icha again.

"No more attacks, at least," He murmured.

Genma nodded, but his eyes were alert. He hadn't grabbed that senbon for no reason. "Things seem normal enough," He said.

Kakashi turned towards Tenzou and smiled at him. "Smile, Tenzou- people are watching!"

Tenzou's frown just deepened, so Kakashi sighed and shrugged.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura came up to him. Her cheeks were slightly flushed; a few minutes ago some of Naruto's admirers had asked for her autograph as well. "Why don't you like the attention? Naruto is enjoying it and I have to say.. it feels pretty good,"

"Mahh, fame is fickle," Kakashi stuffed his hands into his pockets and tried not to think of his father. "So I try not to rely on it,"

Sakura gave him a quizzical look, but Kakashi didn't want to elaborate. He waved a hand at Naruto. "Might be different for Naruto though; he saved the world. He could blow up Konoha and still have the gratitude of the rest of the world for saving their lives. Maybe if you fast forward a couple of decades it'll be different, but for now his popularity is pretty secure."

"Not to mention that it's hard to picture him making any catastrophic mistakes," Genma added. "I mean, he's a flawed person, for sure, but sometimes you forget that 'cause he's just so.."

Kakashi chuckled. "Yeah. Larger than life."

Sakura smiled fondly and folded her hands on her back. "Even so, this is a nice change. No one trying to kill you, just happy people all around."

Kakashi gave a non-committal hum. Very nice, if you forgot about the poison caught behind the seal.

"What will we do when we get home?" Sakura said, before sternly adding; "After we get you to the hospital, of course,"

Kakashi's shoulders hunched. _Hospitals. _"We set the bait and see who bites,"

Sakura narrowed her eyes. "Let me guess. You're the bait."

He beamed at her. "My, how'd you guess?"

"I don't like it. We should think of something else."

Kakashi shrugged. "They're after me. I don't think they'll fall for Sai in disguise again."

Sakura scowled. "I still don't like it,"

"I might have an idea to lure them in," Shikamaru drawled. "Several ideas, actually."

Good old Nara intellect. You could always rely on a Nara to figure out a strategy. Particularly if said Nara was Shikamaru. "When we get back, I want you in my office, along with whoever we need to set this plan of yours in motion. We don't have time to waste,"

"Regardless of what the plan is, I'm in." Sakura said. "I'm the only medic who has monitored your condition from the start."

Genma patted his shoulder in silent supporter. Up ahead, Naruto had joined the others. He was laughing about something with Chouji, Ino and Sai, but occasionally he threw worried looks over his shoulder. Tenzo's brows were still pinched, his shoulders tense, and he was walking much closer to Kakashi than he ordinarily would.

Regardless of what would come next, at least Kakashi wouldn't have to do it alone. Having lived for more than two decades with the thought that he would probably die alone, this was a rather mind-blowing idea.

Sometimes he caught Sai looking at Naruto and Sakura like they were his world. Kakashi could empathize. He had _friends_ these days, proper friends who weren't dead or evil. Friends who would be there for him regardless of what happened.

Friends who'd be there when he died. Morbid, perhaps, but oddly comforting.

Kakashi smiled to himself.

xXx

"Tsunade-sama.. Can I ask you something?"

A sigh. "Sure, kid. What is it?"

Kakashi was lying on his back, the papery texture of the examination table underneath him itching a little on his bare skin. The upper half of his body was uncovered, goose bumps popping up all over the place, and he had to stop himself from reflexively covering his face with his hands.

They'd made it back to Konoha without any further incidents, other than everyone's increased paranoia; at one point a nearby rabbit had broken a twig, and the team had jumped into action like they were actually under attack.

Once in Konoha, Sakura had unceremoniously picked Kakashi up and taken him to the hospital. He'd undergone it all with the distinct feeling that his dignity was shattering into tiny, tiny pieces, but he wasn't stupid enough to argue with a girl who could break every bone in his body.

Even if it meant going to a hospital again. Tsunade, at least, had not been shocked at all when she was informed of the situation. She'd sighed, put her hands in her sides, and said, "You just get yourself hurt at every opportunity you get, don't you?"

Well. Responses like that were far better than overly concerned ones, but it wasn't as beneficial for what little remained of his ego. He _definitely _had a bad reputation these days.

Kakashi blinked himself back into the presence. Tsunade was standing over him, hands glowing green as she checked Sakura's handiwork.

He'd been meaning to ask Tsunade something for a long time, and now that she was trying to focus on not accidentally burning out his organs seemed as good a time as any.

"Why did you make _me _Hokage?" He said.

"Why are you asking me that? I thought you knew, after that whole stint with the air ship (1)."

"No. I don't, frankly. Naruto is in many ways far more suited for the job than I am- Ow," A needle stung his belly and he tried to get away from it. "Not to mention that he actually _wants_ it. And.. sure, diplomacy is not his strong suit, but he's a quick study. You know he is. So.. Why me- OW!"

Tsunade gave him an irritated look and drew the needle out again. "Not for your ability to be a good little patient and _lie still_, that's for sure,"

Kakashi shifted a little. "Well?"

Tsunade pinched him, a move that Kakashi was fairly certain _wasn't _an actual medical procedure. "Because you're still asking me that question. Now, _lie still_."

Kakashi's eyebrows met his hairline. "Ah, you wanted your successor to be clueless?"

"Don't play the fool, Kakashi, it doesn't suit you,"

"Mahh, it's a part I like to play,"

Tsunade sighed and stopped what she was doing for a moment. Kakashi tried to meet her eye, but she avoided it.

"Because you always get back up again after you're knocked down. Konoha needed to get back up after the war. So who better? I was never that good with.. getting back up."

"I'm not a morning person either, you know."

"_Kakashi_."

"Yes, sorry." Kakashi frowned and contemplated her words. It wasn't the answer he'd been expecting. He wasn't sure it was an answer he understood. If anyone was good at getting back up after being knocked down, it was _Naruto_, not him. "Well. Alright. Thank you."

Tsunade finally met his eyes. "What, that's it? No further questions?" She smiled wryly. "You don't have a clue what I meant, do you?"

"Not even a little bit."

"Sometimes, you really _are_ a fool. Now, I'm going to take a look at the state of your liver." She activated her chakra and placed it over his midriff.

Kakashi closed his eyes and tried to focus on the feeling of her familiar chakra buzzing around him. It was oddly comforting and reminded him of long-gone days where he had been a pesky little genin and she in active duty at the hospital. He chuckled.

"Did you feel that?" She asked.

"No. Just nostalgic. Do you remember that time I broke my arm when I was five?"

There was a brief pause. "Minato and Jiraiya were babysitting you. You wanted to prove you didn't need babysitters. I remember. They were in absolute hysterics."

Kakashi smiled at the memory. "I was an even worse patient than I am now-"

"That's debatable."

"- but you told dad I hadn't complained once. I was beside myself with pride."

"You were a funny little brat." Tsunade's chakra intensified for a moment and she stopped talking to concentrate. When her chakra flow lessened, she continued. "Jiraiya was worried your father would murder him, of course, but Sakumo just laughed it off once he knew you were fine,"

"I don't remember that."

"You wouldn't, you were so little. But Jiraiya was sweating bullets."

"I bet I enjoyed that."

"You did, you little tyke." Tsunade's tone changed. "Your liver is doing the best it can under the circumstances, but it's under a lot of strain. Don't drink or take medication if you can help it. Do you still take any?"

"No, none at the moment."

"Good. And no more headaches?"

"Not since I lost the eye,"

"Good." Tsunade straightened up and placed her hands in her sides. "I've helped your liver along a little bit so you shouldn't have too many issues, but keep an eye out. Sakura was right; this poison is tricky."

"Hasn't killed me yet, though."

Tsunade's brown eyes were cold when she looked at him again. "If not for Sakura's handiwork, it'd have eaten through your internal organs in under an hour. You would be dead by now."

Kakashi shivered and made a mental note to send his student a thank-you present of sorts. Or a promotion. Although, actually, promoting a jounin meant he'd be out of a job himself. Plus, nepotism. Maybe just a gift then.

"For now I'll inject you with a universal antidote. It won't destroy the poison but it might do some good. Other than that, I've stimulated the recovery of your organs with my chakra. We'll need daily healing sessions to keep that recovery going, but it will only prolong the inevitable. I'm going to need a sample of the poison in order to be able to study it. Unfortunately I.. can't do that without bleeding you dry, which would rather defeat the point."

"Ahh, it rather would," Kakashi said dryly. "Is there no other way to get to it?"

"Yes, but it's risky. If we opened up the seal temporarily we might be able to get a sample, but it would also mean letting it run through your system again." Tsunade shook her head. "It might be possible but I'd need time to figure it out."

Kakashi nodded thoughtfully. "Usually someone who carries poison will have an antidote with them in case they accidentally poison themselves,"

Tsunade levelled him with a suspicious look. "You're going to do something stupid, aren't you?"

Kakashi smiled. "Yup!"

xXx

Sakura frowned at the book in front of her. _A Comprehensive Guide to Fire Country Poisons_, her ass. It wasn't comprehensive at all; it was alphabetical so she'd already counted three lethal types of poison starting with the letter A that hadn't been mentioned in it. Never mind the poison she was looking for. She groaned and banged her head on the table.

The sound woke Naruto up with a startled snort. He almost fell out of his chair from the sudden movement, but managed to catch himself. "Did you find it?"

"No," Sakura moaned. "Nothing that even comes close."

"But this is the library. It's got to have _something_ we can use." Naruto pulled Sakura's tome towards himself and scanned the page with narrowed eyes. "Are you really sure?"

"_Yes, _I'm sure."

"Ugly is an excellent medic, Naruto-kun," Sai's voice drifted over from behind another stack of books. He peered around it and blinked owlishly. "We can trust her judgment better than our own,"

Sakura sighed. "All I discovered today is that it's either not a Fire Country poison, or it's an entirely new kind. The latter is pretty unlikely, because Tsunade-shishou already concocted just about every combination that's possible during the Third Great War. So, either we have to look outside Fire Country or.. I don't know."

"I went through the _Iwagakure Acid Compendium_," Sai held up a small lime green book. "And Sunagakure's _Secrets of the Puppeteer._ Neither of them resulted in anything."

Sakura nodded. "I had to memorize those during my training. Sunagakure's poisons are fluid based, and Iwagakure's are more acidic in nature. Same goes for Kirigakure's acid mist and Kumogakure's quicksilver. None of them are powders,"

"What about the lesser villages?" Naruto wiped the sleep from his eyes. "D'you know anything about those?"

Sakura frowned. "Not quite as much. All our information comes from the Wars. Some of it is massively outdated. Ideally, we'd need an expert from every village. But that would require us to open up about this information. That could be dangerous."

"So, we need someone who knows a lot about all kinds of poisons, right? Mostly the obscure ones." Naruto said sleepily. "We could ask Gaara, Suna's good with poison,"

"Yes," Sakura nodded. If only Tsunade-sama had recognized the poison, as she had hoped.

"Sasuke-kun might know," Sai observed. "He is immune to many types of poison, due to Orochimaru's involvement. Short of asking Orochimaru or Kabuto, Sasuke-kun is an option. He is part of Team Seven, no?"

Naruto smiled widely. Sakura's fists clenched. "I don't know-" "YEAH! We gotta ask him!"

Saying 'let's invite Sasuke' seemed to have the effect on Naruto that drinking ten cups of coffee might have had on anyone else. His eyes were bright and alive again. "He'll _definitely_ come, and maybe, just maybe, he'll even be helpful for once!"

Sakura idly observed no one else had mastered the art of loving and hating someone at the same time as well as Naruto and Sasuke had. She took a deep breath and smiled a little. "Yeah, alright. Sasuke-kun might be able to recognize it. We should send him a letter,"

"Already on it!" Naruto jumped up from his chair and then straight out of the window.

There was a brief silence. "You are reluctant to see Sasuke-kun?" Sai asked.

Sakura looked up at his wide, black eyes. She wasn't sure how she'd ever thought he looked like Sasuke; Sai's features were paler and far more delicate than Sasuke's were, and the expression in his eyes was nothing like Sasuke's. Where Sasuke was fire, raging and destructive, Sai was like water, flowing gently but steadily.

It would probably have been easier if she'd fallen in love with Sai, instead.

Well. If one was willing to put up with a socially reclusive ex-ANBU who liked to call people 'penis', of course. Which Sakura wasn't, but that was besides the point.

"Of course I'm reluctant," Sakura admitted. "I can never tell what he's thinking. He says he likes me now, but when the world was being destroyed he was willing to let me die like it was nothing. He's not worth all this.. this..consideration."

Sai observed her quietly. "They say a man's true nature will show when he is driven into a corner. You think the war was his corner?"

"Don't you?"

Sai thought about it for a moment. "Yes."

Sakura nodded resolutely. "That's why I don't want to see him. Because I can't decide whether I want to swaddle him in blankets or break his nose."

She stood up, placing her book on the others. Sai helped her order the books neatly so they would be in balance, and Sakura lifted them off the table to be placed back on the shelves. They progressed through the library quietly, Sai thoughtful and Sakura brooding.

"For what it's worth, I believe you deserve better than Sasuke-kun," Sai said when they returned the last book.

Sakura clenched her fists. "Let's get to the Hokage Tower. Shikamaru said he had a plan to explain."

Sai nodded. "Classic evasion technique when things get too personal. I read about this last month. Alright, we will go to the tower and speak no more of it."

Sakura elected to ignore that comment.

xXx

Kakashi sank down in front of the memorial stone. "Well, I'm back," He mumbled, and reached out to trace the stone. _Nohara Rin._ _Namikaze Minato. Sarutobi Asuma. Uzumaki Kushina._ He touched all of these names briefly, before looking over at some of the latest additions.

Two of them in particular he lingered on. _Hatake Sakumo_ had been added shortly before he'd made Hokage, with the elders making a formal apology to finally, finally clear his reputation.

The other addition was _Uchiha Itachi._ Team 7 was responsible for that one. Kakashi looked at it for a moment, before looking at another Uchiha. "Ahh, Obito," He reflexively rubbed his left eye. The scar felt familiar.

Kakashi took a deep breath and closed his eyes while extending his senses. To anyone looking at him it would look as though he was grieving or praying. In reality, he spread his chakra around him and searched his surroundings. He couldn't sense anyone other than the faint chakra signatures from the village. Good. Smell, then? Nothing out of the ordinary, though he caught a familiar wisp of ramen that made him smile.

Last time it had been sound that had given him away. Kakashi slowed his breathing. Nothing. But- there!

He whirled around. Opposite him stood a cloaked figure, face obscured by shadows. It tilted its head curiously.

For a moment, they simply stared at each other. Then Kakashi pushed off of the ground, channeling chakra to the soles of his feet for extra speed, and barreled straight at the stranger. The other man disappeared in a flurry of movement, reappearing left of Kakashi. Something glinted in the sunlight- _sword- _and Kakashi twisted his body out of the way.

_Time for my newest trick_!

Kakashi weaved seals and slammed a hand on the ground. _Kuchiyose!_ Something pulled at his chakra, and then a short, silver-white blade appeared in his hand. He smiled grimly.

His opponent leapt backwards to create some space between them. His shoulders were hunched as he watched Kakashi warily.

"I have to say I'm surprised you're attacking me so openly," Kakashi placed one hand in his side while nonchalantly twirling the blade around with the other. Better hope this fight would be over soon. If he had to fight, he'd have to run on adrenaline.

His sword was a custom made blade, forged from the remnants of his father's blade. It had the perfect balance and length for him, longer than the tanto had been, but shorter than a full-blown katana: a _kodachi_, allowing for swifter and more accurate attacks.

He'd named it _White Fang._

Unsurprisingly, the attacker did not respond but went straight for the attack. Their blades met with a crash, loud enough people should be able to hear it from a significant distance. Kakashi was surprised by the force of the blow, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. From this close, he could see his attacked had a very simple blade; the kind a chunin or a jounin not specializing in sword-fighting might use.

_Well then.._

He forced chakra into his _kodachi_ and sliced clean through the other man's blade. The man made a surprised sound as he keeled forward. He'd put enough force into the blow to shift his center of gravity. Now that the blade he'd been leaning on was split into two, he fell forward.

He'd probably have had time to recover if his opponent hadn't been Kakashi.

Kakashi simply had too much experience with sword-fights to let this opportunity slip. He used the other man's weight against him by pulling him towards himself. He prepared his blade, ready to sink it into his opponent's bared back, then thought better of it. A live prisoner was better than a dead one.

He hit the man in the back of the neck with his free hand, and stepped to the side as he slid down bonelessly.

Kakashi twirled the _White Fang_ around once, twice, then severed his chakra connection to it. It popped out of existence once more. Well, it had already done its job, right?

He kicked the downed man in the side to roll him onto his back.

"Hokage-sama!" Tenzou appeared at his side. "You were so quick there was no time for us to interfere,"

"Hmm, yes," Kakashi frowned. "I can't shake the feeling this was far too easy."

Kakashi's plan had been extremely simple. Make it seem like Kakashi was alone, wait for someone to attack, then close the trap. Hell, they hadn't even had to close the trap; Kakashi had had no trouble whatsoever taking the guy out. Tenzou and the other ANBU he'd asked to watch him hadn't even been necessary.

It was a bit anti-climactic, after everything that had happened.

He knelt down and peeled the mask off of the other man's face. What he saw took his breath away.

It was _Genma._

And there was an exploding tag attached to his face.

xXx

Kakashi didn't get a lot of time to think in the chaos that followed. In a single move, he tore the tag off of Genma's face and threw it away from them both while he threw his body backwards.

Even so, the force of the explosion made his teeth rattle. He scrambled back onto his feet and clambered over to Genma; the older man's eyes were open and half-delirious with pain. The right side of his face and body were covered in burns from the explosion. He'd been too close.

"Senpai!" Tenzou joined him at his side, first checking Kakashi for injuries and then moving on to Genma. Tenzou's face was pale

Kakashi immediately felt for Genma's pulse; strong, but erratic. Breathing too quick, practically hyperventilating. "We have to get him to a hospital,"

"Senpai-"

"No arguments, Tenzou!"

Tenzou bit his lip but complied by helping Kakashi stabilize Genma.

"He needs a medic," Kakashi analyzed.

Tenzou nodded, and together with the other ANBU agent present the three of them lifted Genma up and body-flickered to the hospital. The technique was a strain on Kakashi's exhausted body, but he tried not to let it show on his face. They had enough to worry about already.

His mind was abuzz. He was absolutely certain of Genma's loyalty. They'd been friends for.. oh, at least a decade. Perhaps not always very close, but close enough that he'd trust Genma with his life. So why this..? Could it be he'd been betrayed?

But Genma had been at his side during the last attack, so it couldn't have been him then. Then what? Were there multiple suspects? Was Genma just one part of it? Or was he an unwitting victim in all of this? And if that were true, who could have manipulated him in such a way?

Or.. was Kakashi just telling himself that because he didn't want to acknowledge he'd been betrayed?

He watched as Genma was wheeled away. Genma looked pale and young on the stretcher. But he _couldn't _have. Could he?

"Senpai," Tenzou touched his sleeve. "I'm... sure there's a logical explanation. Genma wouldn't." But Tenzou's shoulders were tense and his dark eyes uncertain.

"Let's go to my office. Shikamaru was going to meet us there for the plan he'd come up with." Kakashi said curtly. He didn't want to speculate any further. First, they'd wait until Genma was stable. Then, they would interrogate him. He was not looking forward to that.

"Senpai, are you alright..?"

Oh. Kakashi looked down. His hands were shaking. He quickly stuffed them in his pockets. "Fine. Let's go."

He didn't speak on the way to the office and only half listened to the theories Tenzou came up with during their walk. People in the streets paused to greet them here and there, some of them civilians, other shinobi. He made an effort to smile a little, or at least not look like he was about to murder them. That wouldn't set much of an example, would it?

His legs felt heavy once they'd finally made it up the stairs of the Hokage Tower. His stamina was even more rotten than usual. _Great._ He briefly and irrationally considered kicking his own door in, just so he could release some of the pent up anger, but instead he took a deep breath through his nose and forced himself to relax. He would be of no use if he wasn't in control.

Shikamaru was already there, unaware of what had just happened. "Ah, Hokage-sama. A messenger hawk just arrived for you."

Ah. A beautiful red hawk was perched on his desk, looking up curiously as they entered the room.

Kakashi walked up to it curiously, stretching out his forearm. The hawk hopped up and curled her claws carefully around the offered appendage. Kakashi brushed two fingers over her smooth feathers before unlatching the small message from her leg. It bore the Daimyo's sigil.

Unusual for him to send a letter by Konoha messenger hawk. He had his own delivery system, after all. He unrolled the message carefully.

'_To speak would cost me my life, but I can offer a hint:_

_Beware of a man who calls himself 'Fox'._

_Miho.'_

* * *

**Notes:**

**Who has two thumbs and knows nothing of medical issues or poisoning? This author! But hopefully you don't know anything about it either and are willing to make do with my attempts to explain things. **

**I also fixed a few lines in earlier chapters that bothered me, such as chapter 1's comment that Kakashi could beat Sakura in a fight; I'm not so sure he could, these days! Not because he is weak, but because she is hella strong. Credit where credit is due, ehh? Kakashi's learned a few new tricks, though; more on that in future chapters. Unless he bites it before that time, of course!**

**(1) Refers to the book 'Thunder in the Frozen Sky', which was released after the manga ended. It is a surprisingly fun read about Kakashi's first adventure as Hokage, and there's now an official English translation called 'Kakashi's Story' for sale on Amazon!**


	7. The Fox

**Chapter 7. The Fox**

* * *

Kakashi stared at the note for a while.

_Fox._

Well. As if there weren't enough mysteries to solve. How inconsiderate.

Kakashi wordlessly handed the note to Tenzou, who read it quickly before passing it on to room was quiet for a moment.

Shikamaru was the first to break the silence, his eyes shining keenly as his he tried to put the clues together."Fox? Does that ring any bells, Kakashi-sensei?" He asked. "Someone you remember who might want to hurt you?"

"Not that I can think of," Kakashi said wearily. He crossed the room and sank down in his chair. He closed his eyes briefly. All he really wanted was to sleep, but that was not going to happen. Not right now, not while he couldn't stop thinking about everything that had happened.

His head felt heavy, and his friends' voices faded a little. He was aware that Tenzou was telling Shikamaru about Genma, but he didn't feel like opening his eyes quite yet. His legs began to ache. He shook himself out of his near slumber, before he fell asleep. He had a feeling that if he gave in to his drowsiness now, waking up wouldn't be easy.

The other two were watching him wearily. Kakashi forced himself to look alert. "So, Genma, 'Fox', and Obito look-a-likes. Sounds like the start of a bad joke." He said, sounding less light-hearted than he'd intended.

"Or a riddle," Shikamaru said.

Kakashi hummed non-committally. What was it people said? A riddle wrapped in a puzzle, clad in mystery, covered by a hint of enigma. Or something. He was probably misquoting someone.

"Frankly, the first thing that comes to mind is ANBU. ANBU agents have animal codenames, most of the time." Kakashi offered as he rubbed his eyes. "But.."

"The code name Fox was retired after the Kyuubi attack. The negative association.." Tenzou filled in. He scratched the back of his head. "That was nineteen years ago. Whoever it was probably took on a different code name."

"I remember him, I think..Quiet sort of man. Died of his injuries not long after the Kyuubi attack. I think he was a friend of Inoichi's."Kakashi said."People thought it was ironic that Kyuubi had killed agent Fox, that's why I remember."

Shikamaru's jaw tensed slightly at the mention of Inoichi, but someone who didn't know him very well would not have noticed. Good control.

Kyuubi was the second thing that came to mind. But Kurama was not a man, and Naruto would probably jump off a cliff before he'd hurt his own friends. So, no.

"Miho wouldn't give me a useless hint."He said out loud. "It's got to be something."

"Senpai.. Miho-san plays some part in this, but for all we know she's involved with the killer. We can't just trust her on her word." Tenzou cut in, sounding impatient.

Kakashi knew he was right. He wasn't sure what it was that made him trust Miho, but it was deeply embedded in his mind. He had to push past his instincts to trust her and adopt a more suspicious outlook towards her. He rubbed the back of his head, sighed, and nodded.

"Yes. Yes- you're right. I just don't see why she _would_\- she obviously knows more than she said, but she can't express it. The fact that seals like that were placed on her at all suggests someone suspected she might talk. That, or she was ROOT." He said, thinking of Sai.

"ROOT? You dissolved ROOT," Shikamaru said. "She can't be there for a ROOT mission."

Kakashi exchanged a glance with Tenzou. They both knew the dissolving of ROOT hadn't gone without a hitch. It had taken place in Kakashi's first year as Hokage. ROOT was known to consist of Danzo's people, so it had been a prerogative to get them on Kakashi's side.

Tracking down all the ROOT members had taken a long time- many had been part of the regular ANBU, unnoticed among the masses, and others had turned out to be unassuming chunin, and even a highly talented twelve year old.

For the most part, those who had been tracked down had either been integrated into the regular forces, or screened and placed in ANBU.

But they hadn't tracked everyone down. That was highly unlikely.

"Danzou is gone," Kakashi said, rubbing his eyes. "But that doesn't mean he might not have appointed a successor, just in case. We're still finding ROOT members even today."

Shikamaru's eyes widened and Tenzou's lips thinned.

"I have my most trusted men working on it day and night," The ANBU Commander said. "We will find them."

"I don't doubt it. But if they still exist, they may have already set things into motion." Kakashi said. "First though, it might be better to focus on the matter of Genma. We'll have to postpone your plan, Shikamaru."

The whole 'fox' debacle was interesting and he'd keep it in the back of his mind, but almost being killed by an old friend took priority. ROOT and Fox would be next.

Kakashi forced himself to remember the fight. The image of his blade, the sunlight reflecting off the cool steel as he had poised it to run Genma through, came to him unbidden. He pinched the bridge of his nose. He'd almost killed Genma. If he hadn't stopped in time..

_No time for sentimentality; focus on what you _know_._

"He used a standard issue blade. I thought it was odd; most people would think twice about using a blade in a serious fight if they weren't sword fighting specialists. I doubt Genma's sword fighting training went beyond what his jounin sensei taught him." He said.

Shikamaru nodded. "I can't say I know him very well, but I find it unlikely someone like him would suddenly turn tail and betray his village. Nonetheless, we might want to look into his life; see if anyone has seen him act out of character or otherwise give any signs he might snap."

Tenzou nodded. "I'll send some of my men-"

"No." Kakashi interrupted him. "Not ANBU. Send... Send Naruto and Sai. They're keener than you know."

The other two went quiet. Kakashi knew they were thinking about ROOT as well. He made a note to apologize to Tenzou later.

"I want to keep this as small as possible. As I said before: do not inform anyone of what's happened, beyond those who are already in the know. We don't know who we can trust." He offered.

Kakashi looked at Shikamaru. "You and I are going back to the hospital, see how Genma is doing and whether we can glean anything from him. In case he's ready to be interrogated, we'll need Ino as well. Any idea where she is?"

"No, but I can guess," Shikamaru said, straightening out of his usual slouch, "and I've been thinking; could it be that someone controlled Genma? It would explain why he would use a fighting style he's not used to. Could be whoever controlled him doesn't know how he's supposed to fight, and simply used him as a puppet."

"Controlling another human being to that extent requires incredible skill, and most people will never even have access to such techniques." Yamato countered. "A puppeteer, maybe, and the Yamanaka, to some extent. But neither would profit from killing you."

"A particularly skilled genjutsu user could also control someone." Kakashi mused. He could feel a headache coming on. It seemed that for every question they answered, a new mystery revealed itself.

Still... the idea that Genma had been possessed was a far more comfortable one than that he'd betrayed Konoha. But this wasn't the time to be complacent or go for the easy, comfortable option; they had to remain vigilant and find out the facts, rather than basing their argument on assumptions.

Let's see. Fox, Miho, Genma. Fox, Miho, Genma. Potential mind control- or body control? Which was it? Or was it neither?

"For now though, let's go our separate ways and try to find some evidence. Yamato, find Naruto and Sai and give them their assignment. After that, talk to Yuugao and see what she can find out about an individual known as 'Fox'. As for you yourself, I'm sure you can think of something to investigate. Shikamaru, you're with me."

Both men saluted him and Kakashi cringed. The other two pretended not to see it.

* * *

At the edge of town, Uchiha Sasuke slipped onto the wall without being seen. He breathed in deeply, reveling in the familiar smell of pine and freshly baked bread. It had to be market day.

His eyes habitually slid over to the area where the Uchiha compound had once been. It was long gone now, and to some extent, that was a relief. At the same time, it was as though his family was slowly being forgotten by Konohagakure. Well. Perhaps Sasuke would see to it that that would not happen. He'd come to accept the idea that he would have to be patient.

"Hey!" A guard called out.

A minute and a half before they'd spotted him. Sloppy. He'd have to talk to Kakashi about that. But then it seemed he had a lot to talk about with Kakashi. Assassination attempts, for one thing.

He spared the guard a glance and was satisfied to note that the young woman recognized him. Sasuke didn't otherwise acknowledge her, and dropped off the wall. He landed with all the grace of a cat, and set off in Naruto's direction.

With his Rinnegan activated, it wasn't hard to find his best friend. He spotted Naruto very quickly; as expected, the blond was at Ichiraku Ramen's, gesticulating wildly as he spoke to..what was his name? Sai?

"..And then, out of nowhere, I show up and you're all gawking at me like I'm-" Naruto rambled.

Sasuke didn't bother trying to catch up to the conversation. He simply ducked into Ichiraku's and enjoyed the wide grin that instantly appeared on Naruto's face. Sai blinked at Sasuke, his face otherwise a blank canvas.

"Sasuke! I thought I sensed you, you old-"

"Ah, Sasuke-kun. Still armless, I see," Sai said, somehow managing to censure Naruto in the process.

"-stard! You could've-oi, Sai, not nice,"

Sasuke ignored the jab at his appearance. From what little he had seen of Sai, being offensive was practically his modus operandi. Figures Naruto would befriend even the most obnoxious of shinobi.

"Naruto. I got your letter," He said, one corner of his mouth curling up. He didn't bother acknowledging Sai; he had no reason to show the other man respect.

"Yeah- about that, we're not actually, uhh," Naruto stepped forward and grabbed Sasuke by the shoulder. "Well, let me finish my ramen and we'll go somewhere else, 'kay? Somewhere we can actually talk, and all that."

"Wouldn't it be imperative that we leave now?" Sai said. "It is an important matter-"

"He can finish his ramen." Sasuke interrupted. "If Kakashi were dead, I'm sure we'd know about it."

Naruto paled a little, before pulling a face. "Ah, sheesh, you two; can't you be normal for once? Do you have to be so cold about it?" He shook his head and walked back to the counter, where he sat down and slurped down some ramen.

"You won't make many friends if you keep talking about people like that, you know," He said once he'd emptied his mouth.

Sasuke shrugged and sat down as well. He already had all the friends he would ever need. They knew what to expect of him and he knew what to expect of them. That was enough.

Naruto, who was fluent in Sasuke-esque, grinned. "But you did show up to help. You're here for Kakashi-sensei, and that's good. He'll appreciate it, even if he won't show it. Though actually, he might- he's better with people than y- Well, kinda. Okay, maybe he's not. But he says 'thank you' sometimes."

"Hmm." Sasuke frowned at nothing in particular. The girl behind the counter squeaked and disappeared to the kitchen.

"So, anyway, seen anything good on the road?" Naruto said, before practically diving head-first into his bowl.

Hmm, small-talk. "Nothing I haven't already written to you about." Sasuke said. Truthfully, he wasn't very keen on talking about his experiences while they were in public. Not to mention that Sai was right there; Sai might have looked like an idiot, but Sasuke knew not to trust a former ANBU agent. Worse, an ANBU ROOT agent. That suggested a certain amount of danger and cunning that Sasuke didn't want to trust his experiences to.

Not to mention how unnerving it was to have Sai stare at him in the way he was doing right now. There was a faint smile around Sai's lips, but venom in his eyes. Venom that he kept especially for Sasuke, because when he looked at Naruto his expression was much warmer. Sasuke tried to quell the annoyance niggling in the back of his mind. It wasn't his problem- he wouldn't allow it.

Sasuke crossed his arms, not minding the silence that followed. He simply watched his friend eat, eyes lingering on the prosthetic arm for a moment. He quickly pushed down the stab of guilt doing so always accompanied, and touched his own stump. Getting Naruto's forgiveness had been easy; getting his own, not so much.

Naruto finished eating after a moment, placed money on the counter and beckoned the other two out of the stall. He hopped onto the roof to avoid the ambling crowd below, and led them to his small apartment.

He'd definitely had an upgrade in living quarters since the last time Sasuke had been in Konoha. This new apartment was large, with surprisingly tasteful decoration.

More importantly, though.. "It's so clean," Sasuke said. He couldn't quite keep the astonishment from creeping into his voice.

Naruto blushed. "Hinata helped me decorate things. And she visits pretty often, so it's gotta be clean when she gets here,"

Sasuke's eyebrows rose imperceptibly. "Hyuuga Hinata..?" That was new. He wasn't sure how he felt about it.

"Uhh, yeah- we're sort of- together," Naruto said bashfully. Then he grinned widely, baring pearly white teeth and sparkling eyes.

Sasuke pushed down his emotions. Naruto in love was a Naruto who glowed like the sun, blinding everyone in his presence. It was almost too much, though somewhere deep down he couldn't help but feel _happy _about it even as it also came with an unexpected stab of jealousy.

'Happy' wasn't a word Sasuke often got to use to describe himself.

"So, Kakashi almost got himself killed again. What was it this time?" He said, forcing himself back into the presence.

Naruto's face fell a little, both at the lack of acknowledgement and the seriousness of their new topic. "He got poisoned. And even Granny Tsunade can't figure out what kind of poison it is. They've slowed it down, but.. If we don't find a cure.."

The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.

_Huh_.

For some reason, Sasuke had always thought of lazy, useless Kakashi as being weirdly immune to death. Like he just waltzed right ahead, Icha Icha in front of his nose, dodging the Grim Reaper with a mumbled, 'Whoops, sorry, didn't see you there,' before moving on.

That was stupid of course, Sasuke berated himself. There was no such thing as immortality. His jaw clenched. If Kakashi almost walked into the Grim Reaper, the Reaper would show as little mercy as he did to anyone else.

"Symptoms?" Sasuke said evenly.

"Uhh. You'd have to ask him, or Sakura-chan. But from what I could tell, just..general misery, I guess." Naruto said helplessly. He sank down. "Wasn't fun, seeing him like that. All pale and weak."

"Acute pain, nausea, vertigo, and loss of consciousness." Sai quoted. "Basically his organs would have dissolved if not for Sakura."

Naruto gagged dramatically . "Did you _have_ to be so specific?"

Truth be told, that sounded like a lot of poisons to Sasuke. 'General misery' was surprisingly apt as a description. He considered it for a moment. "Poison type? Liquid or powder?"

Sai blinked. "Powder. Sakura said most shinobi poisons are liquid based."

Sasuke nodded curtly. "_Most _of them are. Let's go find Sakura."

* * *

In Konoha Hospital's research facilities, Sakura was utterly unaware of the events that had transpired over the past few hours. She was bent over a blood sample, studying its make-up and trying to discern whether it was in any way not what it ought to be. She already knew that it was off, of course; the blood values had been all wrong, but not in any way that she recognized.

She wondered briefly about Tsunade who, during the third great ninja war, had been faced with this type of situation regularly. A patient suffering somewhere, dying, while she was trying to beat the clock and find an antidote. It was not unlike doing battle, Sakura mused. The only difference was that it wasn't your life in the balance.

She'd done a few tests on the blood and managed to more or less extrapolate some of the elements of the poison. It was unfamiliar to her, as she'd expected, and the data banks had given very little information. What was worse was that the poison not behind the seal but in his bloodstream had thinned to the extent that it would be impossible to find an antidote for it. They'd need a more intrusive surgery to get to it, or alternatively open up the seal and let it flow through his veins for a moment.

She had been able to draw a few conclusions, however. If Sakura were to touch or ingest a dose, it would make very little difference to her. The poison seemed, for lack of a better term, dead. Whether it had already gone past its expiration date or whether something else was going on, Sakura couldn't say for certain.

Sakura was thankful she'd taken samples so shortly after placing the seal. The concentration was still low, but higher than if they were to take blood from him now.

The second test she would have to execute was a well-known one; see whether the poison responds to chakra. There were types of poison that could sit dormant in a body for hours on end, right up until the poisoned party used their chakra. The sudden stimulation would make the poison flare to life, and before they knew it the victim would be suffering the effects.

Sakura took a metal pin from a nearby tray. It looked like a rather useless tool to the uninitiated, but in reality it was made of chakra-conducting material. While there was no harm to Sakura if she were to touch the poison, the pin would make sure the sample wasn't spoiled.

Sakura stripped off its sterile packaging and placed one end in the poison sample. She channeled a precise amount of chakra through the pin with practiced ease, and watched the poison light up and _spread._

Sakura gasped. The poison responded to chakra! That meant it would only activate within the human body if chakra was activated. Which meant- her mind began to reel.

She forced herself to take a few deep, steadying breaths. There was nothing worse in the medical profession than to jump to conclusion. She forced herself to sit back, relax, and theorize.

First of all, Kakashi-sensei's chakra was wilder and less controlled than it had been before the war.

Kakashi -sensei hadn't noticed the difference right away; after the battle with Kaguya, his chakra had been near depleted. He had reported that his chakra had recovered quicker than he'd expected, though, and when he'd returned to his normal chakra levels within a week, his medics had already counted that as a blessing. But then his reserves hadn't stopped growing.

The hypothesis was simple; the sharingan must have been feeding off of his chakra 24/7, not just while it was active. A low-grade, barely noticeable drain, one that his body had cleverly anticipated by generating more chakra than a normal person would have generated in the same span of time. It was not unlike blind veterans whose other senses had improved vastly in order to compensate.

What most people, Kakashi included, had always thought of as relatively low chakra regeneration and overall capacity, had in fact been an absurdly high level of chakra regeneration with average to large chakra reserves, constantly fighting the sharingan's drain to keep his chakra capacity at a steady level while the sharingan was covered.

The conclusion was this: where most Uchiha could walk around reasonably comfortably with their sharingan activated for more than a day, Kakashi had been doing so 24/7 for eighteen years. Eighteen years of slowly, gradually, building up both his reserves and his regenerative capabilities to the point where he could eventually use Kamui, a hugely draining technique.

Now, without the sharingan to tap into those extra reserves, the regenerative capacity of his chakra had slowed down to a more normal level as the need for hyper chakra regeneration was no longer there.

Reports from Kirigakure about their Byakugan-wielding Ao had shown similar results, as had a number of other similar cases, and Kirigakure's head medic had collaborated with Tsunade on an essay describing the topic, called _Hyperactive Chakra Regeneration in Response to Dojutsu Transplants_. Kakashi had been the (somewhat reluctant) guinea pig on their side of the continent, and Sakura had eagerly participated in the research.

The end results were equally interesting. While his chakra did not regenerate as quickly as it had, and Kakashi didn't have Naruto or Sasuke's massive reserves, for a Kage, his current reserves were more than respectable. Moreover, his reserves were larger than they'd ever been.

The only trouble was, Sakura mused, that when he used techniques he tended to overshoot and blow himself up by using too much chakra. Well, 'trouble'.. As he couldn't actually injure himself with his own chakra, it was rather amusing to watch him flail around. There had been a number of weeks not too long after his inauguration that Konoha's Rokudaime Hokage had walked around with a decided lack of eyebrows.

Sakura giggled at the memory, while theorizing that the unstable nature of his chakra may well have set off the poison, even during an event as unlikely as dinner.

At her side, Shizune briefly raised her eyebrows. "I didn't think poison analysis has ever been a particularly funny job." She smiled.

"Just a memory," Sakura shook her head. "I think I've established that the poison responds to chakra, but I haven't yet established its components. The samples are too small."

She hesitated for a moment, before deciding to go with her instinct."I've been thinking..We assumed the poison was ingested through the meal, but knowing the poison only activates when stimulated by chakra suggests... well..for all we know he was poisoned before the dinner even began. If that were true, it might narrow down our list of suspects."

"Or increase it," Shizune countered. "The kitchen staff versus the entire palace staff. And that is without counting intruders. And you told me about how you found Chouji. Why would anyone go through the trouble of knocking him out?"

Sakura sighed. "That's the bit that doesn't make sense. Why go through the trouble? Maybe it's more likely that the poison was in the food, but that Kakashi-sensei using his weird eating trick was what surprised our mystery man. Maybe that's why he attacked sensei afterwards- not to kill him directly, but to make him use chakra and activate the poison. He didn't know it already had because of how quickly we covered it up."

The two women were quiet for a moment. Then, in a rush of anger, Sakura slammed her fist onto the table. "I was on to something there, and then it slipped away!"

Shizune gave her a compassionate look. She stood up, walked over and placed her hands on Sakura's shoulder, the crisp plastic of her gloves feeling cool to the touch. "Sakura.. I know it's frustrating. But we have to stay calm and keep searching. That's the best bet we've got right now."

Sakura fought against the lump in her throat. "It's just not fair. We're supposed to be at peace."

"I know. I know. Sometimes these things happen. But has Team 7 ever failed at anything?"

"The Chuunin exams," Sakura said vindictively.

"When you were twelve." Shizune said, placing it neatly into perspective. "We will fix this. I promise you. We're all doing our best. Why don't you go and check on Genma? I will finish up here."

Sakura shot Shizune a grateful look. "Thank you, Shizune-senpai." She stood up, and left the room. She could only hope Shizune was right, and give it all she had.

* * *

**AN:**

**Bit of world-building included, particularly in terms of chakra theory. **

**I hope my intentions here were clear; Kakashi does not have god-level chakra capacities- he's not from a clan like the Senju, and while it is implied he had high chakra levels for a 12 year old boy in Gaiden, he likely never would have had Kisame-level chakra reserves.**

**That said, as reviewer Agent Frank Underwood said it, **'**It's not really a stretch to say that Kakashi has Kage Level Reserves. I would argue he had them during the war arc as well, considering how he was spamming Kamui (an S rank technique) in addition to the numerous Raikiri's (A rank)(note by Hiiraeth: I think Raikiri might also be S-rank, actually). I am not saying he has as much as the Raikage (whose chakra was compared to a tailed Beast) but I would say mid-Kage level reserves. S rank Characters around his chakra level would be like Kakuzu, Itachi, Deidara, Sasori etc.'**

**In other news, Sasuke! **

**Thank you all for reading, reviews are appreciated!**


	8. Friends

Chapter 8

As luck would have it, Sakura and Kakashi ran into each other near the entrance of the hospital. Kakashi's thoughts were still preoccupied with his earlier conversation, so it took him a while to register what Sakura was telling him. Once he'd managed, he nodded wearily.

His chakra activating the poison just made him feel more miserable, all things considered. His funny little trick had cost him big time, and he wanted to smack himself in the head for it. Or perhaps wring his own neck, or... Well. Being poisoned was punishment enough, perhaps.

"What about now? If I use chakra now, it wouldn't make a difference anymore, right?" He sighed.

Sakura nodded. "Probably not, as it's already been isolated. Maybe once the seal- _if _the seal breaks, it could be a problem."

Kakashi tried not to wince at her slip of the tongue. Right. Once. Something else to look forward to. He shook his head. "Have you heard from Genma?"

Sakura shook her head. "I'm sure if we go there now we'll be able to learn something," She said. "Tsunade-sama works quickly."

"Tsunade?" Kakashi echoed.

Sakura nodded. "I thought it'd be good to let her know."

Kakashi nodded at her and let her lead the way. They paced through the hospital together, the smell of antiseptics and illness filling Kakashi's nostrils. He shivered despite himself and tried to turn his train of thought to other matters. Every day in the hospital was another opportunity to overcome his instinctive dislike of the place.

They reached the room where Genma was treated quickly. Tsunade, who had sensed them coming, exited the room just as they arrived. Her expression was troubled, and Kakashi was reminded that Genma had been one of her bodyguards.

Just before the door closed, he caught a glimpse of Genma; his limbs secured to the bed with bindings, a pair of ANBU at his side, and bandages covering his injuries.

He looked back at Tsunade. She didn't need any more prompting.

"It's peculiar; aside from his obvious injuries, his muscles were strained to the point of injury. It's something we see sometimes in the victims of Shintenshin, the Yamanaka clan technique; the victim fights against the control placed over their minds and ends up injuring themselves in the process." She said, sighing.

She ran a hand through her bangs. "As far as we can tell, he was under someone's control," She continued.

Kakashi let out a deep breath as relief blossomed up in his own chest. It had seemed so unlikely for Genma of all people to be responsible, but a voice had nagged at the back of his mind that it had once seemed unlikely for Obito to betray them as well. Now he could finally silence that voice; Genma was innocent.

"Are you sure?" He asked anyway, never one to place all his faith in sentences such as 'as far as we can tell'.

Tsunade nodded, "But I've requested Ino's presence to have her confirm it. Ideally, she'll scour his memory for a bit, perhaps he remembers who controlled him."

Mind control, huh? More to worry about. Although that begged the question why he didn't just control Kakashi and have him jump off a cliff or something. Why this convoluted way to get rid of him? Maybe the assassin was an amateur who'd gotten a lucky shot in. And wasn't that a humbling thought?

He sighed, rubbing his forehead with one hand, and sank down in one of the chairs lining the wall. "Genma's still unconscious?"

Tsunade nodded. "But he will be alright," She added, as if she could read Kakashi's mind. "So don't worry. He may end up with some scarring in his face, though; burn wounds are tricky to heal properly."

She frowned at him. "How are you feeling?"

Kakashi shrugged. The chair felt wonderfully soft underneath him, and it was great not to have to stand for a moment. He felt like he'd been standing for days, and it occurred to him that he really hadn't slept in a while. A quick calculation later told him it had been at least twelve hours by now. That was probably not a good thing, in his current condition.

"You can wait here until Ino gets here, if you want." Tsunade said. "It might be twenty minutes at least." She raised her eyebrows meaningfully.

Sakura, who was quicker on the uptake than Kakashi, sat down next to him and nodded. "We'll wait. Yamato-senpai, if you have other matters to take care of you can go ahead. I'll stay here."

Kakashi wanted to protest that he didn't need a babysitter, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep his eyes open. They kept drifting shut against his will. It was very tiresome. Tiring. Tired. Hmm.

Before he really knew what was happening, he drifted off into sleep. Unbeknownst to him, Sakura and Tsunade shared a triumphant smile.

xXx

_"It was poison that got me, you know,"_

_His mother's voice drifted in, and suddenly he was a little boy again, sitting on her knee. His mother smiled kindly. "Took a good long time to kill me, and there was nothing anyone could do. One of Chiyo's poisons, I think."_

_"Is that why dad killed her son?" Kakashi asked, and was remarkably unsurprised to find himself suddenly an adult again._

_His mother ran a hand through his hair. He leaned into the movement like a man depraved of contact. How many times did someone touch him without the intention to hurt or kill, anyway?_

_"Maybe. I don't know. That's what you always suspected. It might not be real. But then who knows whether Sakumo was a vengeful type? It's not like you knew him very well."_

_Kakashi frowned and swung his legs back and forth as a child would. He leapt up and crossed his arms over his chest. "I knew him well enough."_

_"Did you really? You were seven. How well can a seven-year old know their father?"_

_The scene changed and they suddenly found themselves in the ANBU Headquarters. Kakashi could see himself talking to Itachi about something. It didn't seem odd that there were two of him, nor that his mother was still at his side. Every time he tried to look at her face his gaze seemed to slide away again, like water off a duck. He only got a vague impression of smooth dark hair, dark eyes, and a mole on her cheekbone._

_"Whatever. You're not even alive," He said petulantly, feeling more like a five year old than himself. "I'm the one dying of poison now, not you."_

_It occurred to him that that was a very childish and unpleasant thing to say and he wanted to chastise himself for it, but before he could he was suddenly standing next to his own body. He blinked at it for a moment, and his body frowned back. _

_Kakashi shrugged and turned away. This was a dream, after all. His mother followed after him, but when she placed a hand on his shoulder that hand was strong and tanned, and she suddenly looked an awful lot like Gai. _

_"You can't help who your friends are, Kakashi, just as you can't help who your parents are. Or who does or doesn't like you. Or who wants to poison you and who doesn't. Or when not to buy dog biscuits." Gai said with his mother's voice. _

_Kakashi frowned at this particular bit of faux wisdom and shook his head. "That doesn't even make sense."_

_"Of course it doesn't. You're dreaming."_

"-oi. Wake up already."

Someone was shaking him by the shoulder. Kakashi woke up with a snort, head shooting up fast enough that he almost butted it against Naruto's nose. Naruto's quick reflexes saved them both from a headache, fortunately.

"You okay?" Naruto asked, his blue eyes narrowed a little as he peered at Kakashi.

"Uhh- yeah, sure. I must have drifted off." Kakashi gradually became aware of the other presences in the hallway. Sakura was still to his left, but instead of laughing at him she was tense and looking at something else.

Or someone else, rather. Kakashi followed her gaze, but he knew who it was even before he saw him. There was that distinctive smell and that dark rumble of chakra that told him Uchiha Sasuke was standing in the hallway.

Kakashi pushed himself to his feet and tried not to sway. He was still rather drowsy and really just wanted to go home and curl up in bed, but this wasn't the time for it.

"Sasuke." He said dryly, "I wasn't expecting you."

He really, really hadn't been, and couldn't help but wonder at the young man's motivations. Sasuke never did anything without reason.

"Hnn. Naruto wrote to me. He said you got yourself into trouble again."

Kakashi's face fell and he gave Naruto a dismayed look. "Is this how you think of me? This person who gets into trouble all the time?" He moaned.

"Yes." His three students chorused.

"Ehh.." Kakashi sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "I guess I can't deny I got into trouble this time, but it wasn't my fault."

"Are you suffering from chakra exhaustion again?" Sasuke asked in a tone that was not nearly respectful enough for Kakashi's liking.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes a little. "I didn't realize there was such a thing as sensei-stereotyping, but here we are. No, I'm not suffering from chakra exhaustion."

"Could've fooled me," Sasuke muttered, and looked away.

Team 7 fell into an awkward silence. Kakashi looked from one to the other. Sakura was trying very hard not to look at Sasuke, Sasuke was trying very hard not to look at anyone, and Naruto's wide smile was tinged with desperation.

"Well, would you look at that; team 7 reunited." Kakashi beamed. "What a wonderful occasion."

"-He says, about to keel over from being poisoned." Sakura finished. She got up, brushed off her skirt for no good reason whatsoever, and placed her hands in her sides. 'Sasuke-k- Sasuke, if you know anything about this type of poison, perhaps we should make that our priority once Ino has finished." She said bravely, but her lower lip wobbled a little, giving away her true feelings.

It had to be awkward between them. Boy meets girl, girl confesses to boy, boy tries to kill girl, girl tries to kill boy, boy and girl forgive each other, girl confesses her love again and boy ignores her and goes on a trip around the world. Not exactly smooth sailing in the romance department.

Well. At least there wasn't any mistletoe around to make it even more awkward.

Sasuke hummed something inaudible in reply to Sakura's question, but nodded.

Kakashi frowned a little. "Why did you come here, Sasuke?"

Sasuke looked at him with a displeased expression. "I happen to know a thing or two about poison types." He grunted. "So I'm here to help."

Kakashi's eyes widened with genuine surprise. "Help?" He echoed. "Well. Thank you." He scratched the back of his head. "It's appreciated."

Fortunately Naruto chose that moment to grin widely and speak up again, breaking what would otherwise have certainly been an even more awkward silence. "It's so great for all of us to be together again! Whoever's behind this won't stand a chance if we all work together."

This was a sentiment Kakashi privately shared; his students had gone from annoying little brats to Kage-level powerhouses. There wasn't much that could stand in their way if they put their minds to it. Of course the fact that it was poison and that they had no idea who their foe really was put a spanner in the works.

The four of them sat down, and as they waited Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura filled Sasuke in on everything that had happened. Sasuke in turn shared a few useful insights in regards to both poisons and, perhaps more valuable, a suggestion that Kakashi's mind had also somehow been altered. That would explain him seeing Obito and the other strange figure more effectively than genjutsu.

They stopped talking when the door opened again and Ino came out, looking tired. She nodded at them, eyes widening when she saw Sasuke but not commenting on it. Her eyes did flash to Sakura, and Kakashi didn't doubt the two girls would talk about it later.

"Tsunade-sama's suspicions were correct. There were definitely traces of mind control in Genma-san's mind. I couldn't see what exactly was done to him, or who did it; whoever it was, Genma either didn't see them or they wiped the memory from his mind." Ino said.

Ino pinched the bridge of her nose. "I can't really believe one of my people would do such a thing; they're loyal to a fault. Nonetheless, I'll... Well, I'll set up interviews with them," She said, clearly reluctant.

Kakashi nodded. The Yamanaka clan had been part of Konohagakure for generations, and they had always supported the Hokages who followed Sandaime's particular brand of leadership. They had expressed their support for Kakashi as well, but of course peer pressure was a powerful thing; a man might agree with the majority but have different opinions in private, where no one could hear or see him.

Could it really have been a Yamanaka?

Kakashi crossed his arms over his chest and smiled at Ino. "Thank you for going through the trouble. You do your father proud."

Ino's face coloured and she raised her head proudly. "Thank you, Kakashi-sama." With that, she turned and left.

Kakashi cringed a little at the suffix. It would be much more pleasant if she'd stuck to -sensei. Either way, they'd gathered more information. Mind control. Huh.

"D'you know any other clans or whatever who use mind control?" Naruto asked him.

"You've seen more diverse techniques than we have," Sakura added, "Maybe there's something..?"

Kakashi considered it. There had been a man who could control other people like puppets through the use of Sunagakure's puppeteering techniques. He'd been a real menace during the Third War, until Minato-sensei had put an end to his reign by simply outracing him before he could perform his technique.

He told his students.

"It wouldn't be impossible.." Sakura mused.

"Maybe I should write to Gaara as well," Naruto said, looking more enthused. Kakashi hid an amused snort. Naruto using his connections was a powerful weapon, even if Naruto himself wouldn't see it as such.

"You could, but I don't want to bother him with anything unless we know more about what's going on. And even if you're sure, make sure not to share the specifics. I trust Gaara," he added, seeing Naruto was about to protest, "but messenger birds can be intercepted. With you three here we don't really have to worry about village invasions when I am incapacitated, but there are other ways to abuse it."

"We're at peace anyway," Sasuke observed. "What are you worried about?"

"You of all people should know things aren't always what they seem," Kakashi sighed. "We're at peace, yes; but it's a more delicate balance than you'd think. We initially thought the Daimyo was involved. If we'd accused him, it could have led to a serious rift in Fire Country. Even if I didn't want to go to war, the village would practically be obliged as we... well, we couldn't let it pass. Letting it pass would make it seem as though we are willing to accept such attacks."

"If one of Gaara's people is involved, something similar could happen." He added, looking at Naruto. "We wouldn't go to war, but it would lead to discontent amongst the shinobi and remind them of past conflicts. Even though we all fought together in the War, there are still many among us who remember losing friends to ninja of other villages. That doesn't just go away, no matter how much we may want it to."

"But we should let it go-" Naruto began.

Kakashi raised a hand to stop him. "Of course we should. But not everyone is capable of it. Not everyone is as forgiving or kind as you are, Naruto."

At his side, Sasuke nodded slightly in agreement. He knew better than most that the desire for revenge could overwhelm even the most sensible person.

"I hate politics," Naruto grumbled.

Sakura giggled at this. "You're going to have to get used to it if you still want to be Hokage." She said.

Naruto sighed and nodded mournfully. This was one aspect of the job he was not looking forward to, even though Kakashi had no doubt that public relations would be his strong suit as Hokage.

"For now though, let's go our separate ways. Sasuke, if you would look at that poison I'd be much obliged. Sakura, I'm sure you could help as well. Naruto, go with them and see what you can do."

The latter he said mostly to save Sakura from being alone with Sasuke. She probably wouldn't want to be, at this stage.

"What about you? We can't leave you alone." Naruto said obstinately.

"You don't have to! I am here to help!" Another voice joined theirs, accompanied by the squeak of rubber wheels on linoleum.

They turned towards the sound and saw Maito Gai wheel towards them. He was grinning widely as always, not one to be deterred by any obstacle for very long. "It is good to see you all together! I do not know why you want Kakashi to be accompanied, but it seems very sensible; he gets into trouble all the time, haha! I will join him, don't you worry."

Kakashi sighed deeply. More people who thought he was a trouble magnet. Where did these rumours keep coming from? He was only slightly accident prone.

Sakura and Naruto smiled at Gai while Sasuke looked at him incredulously. Knowing him, he hadn't even known Gai had survived his fight against Madara.

"What a fine day to have a team reunion," Gai grinned, "Is it your birthday perhaps, Sasuke?"

Kakashi fought not to smile. The fact that Gai thought they only got together for birthdays was both amusing, slightly insulting, and tragically true. Some birthdays were even skipped.

He looked at Sasuke, curious to see his response. Sasuke opened his mouth and closed it again. "Yes. It's my birthday." He mumbled, his face oddly blank.

This time Kakashi couldn't stop the grin that spread over his face. At his side, Naruto snorted loudly. Way to take one for the team, Sasuke.

Kakashi placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "We're going to celebrate later today! We'd invite you but we want to keep it a team thing- you know how Sasuke is."

Sasuke glared at him, which coming from a man who could literally kill with his eyes was rather more intimidating than anyone else glaring.

They spent the next few seconds trying to stop Gai from congratulating Sasuke too enthusiastically -Gai tended to forget he was in a wheelchair and crushed at least one of Sasuke's toes beneath its wheels - before his students left.

It would be inconvenient to be around Gai now; he couldn't tell his friend because Gai would definitely kick up a fuss, but on the other hand he didn't want to chase him off either.

He vaguely remembered that Gai had been in his dream, and he wondered whether he was having prophetic dreams now, of the sort that the protagonists of Icha Icha always seemed to have. Then it occurred to him that he wasn't really sure where to go next.

Gai's grin had faded a little as he looked at Kakashi. "You look tired, my friend. Perhaps you have been working too hard!"

Oh dear. That line of thought usually led to Gai being all teary-eyed about what hard work Kakashi did for the sake of the village, etc. etc. Although that kind of conversation would beat 'hey, did I mention I'm poisoned and probably dying?' by a mile.

So Kakashi just smiled. "Maybe I am. I thought about going home for a nap-" Which would be more than welcome, at this point, "-but we could have something to eat together first, if you want."

Gai smiled back at him. "I would! Let's be off, then."

Kakashi nodded at him and wondered how on earth he was going to keep his condition a secret from Gai, who knew him better than most and had seen him through some of the darkest events of his life.

Kakashi would just do what he'd always done; dive right into it and see what happened.

xXx

Sai dropped down from the wall without making a sound. For the first time in years he was clad in his uniform, mask and all.

ANBU Headquarters were as dark and silent as they had always been. Part of the organization had moved to the ANBU ROOT quarters, so Sai knew the way like the back of his hand. Not many other ANBU were around; when not on duty, agents tended not to hang around except for training or mission briefings. That said, those who were around were rife with one thing: gossip.

It seemed unlikely that one of the most secretive organizations in the world should have a grape vine, but when one keeps so many secrets one tends to enjoy sharing them with people who are also allowed to know. No state secrets, of course, but if you happened to know your colleague was sleeping with your captain it was nice not to have to keep that secret as well. There were only so many secrets one person could keep; this was why ANBU ROOT had relied on tongue seals that would kill whoever spilled their guts.

The tricky bit was that gossip tended to circulate within teams, and Sai hadn't been part of an ANBU team in years. Hell, even back in ROOT he had more often worked on his own than as part of a group. He'd had to learn that from being with Team Kakashi.

Still, it wouldn't hurt to try. His mask bore red paint to mark him as a senior officer but not a captain. This could work to his advantage; he was experienced but not a figure of authority whom you might not want to share your dirty little secrets with.

He made his way to the only common area in the ANBU headquarters; the shower rooms. Time to do what he did best: spy.

xXx

Kakashi listlessly moved his _dango_ around his plate. He'd eaten four out of five and felt like he was about to burst. His stomach ached, but there was no way he was going to admit that to Gai.

Gai was already keeping a close eye on him as it was. Something about the way he looked at Kakashi was off; there was a calculating look in his eyes that Kakashi recognized as his 'thinking face'. When he pulled that face, Gai knew something was up. And when Gai knew something was up, he could be startlingly insightful.

Kakashi attributed the latter to the fact that they'd known each other since they were five.

Kakashi swallowed and picked up the last piece of _dango_ with his chopsticks. He'd have to force it down, otherwise it would look suspicious. On a normal day he'd have no trouble whatsoever with finishing all five, and Gai would know that.

"So, Tenten is taking her jounin exams soon." Gai said idly. There was an uncharacteristic lack of enthusiasm involved. "I advised her not to; I think she might be happier in a different profession, but you know how she is."

"And Lee wants to be a jounin sensei. He's quite convinced of it; he'll be brilliant, of course. I can't wait to meet his students."

Kakashi nodded and took a bite. He chewed it slowly before swallowing. It seemed very warm in the room and his eyes threatened to fall shut again. He really, really needed to get some proper sleep. That, and a painkiller, because his stomach was killing him.

"Are you ill?" Gai asked suddenly.

Kakashi froze. That was quick even for Gai's standards. He looked up slowly.

"Why do you think I'm ill?" He asked carefully.

Gai frowned at him over the table. "Because I know you. You pretend to be tired sometimes but you're never actually tired. But now you're about to fall over. You don't enjoy your meal, and you're sweating. Your students didn't want to leave you alone. That goes beyond protectiveness. What's wrong?"

"Gai-" Kakashi sighed. This was exactly what he'd been worried about.

"Is it serious?" Gai interrupted him.

"Well-"

"Is it?"

"..Yes. But it's not illness, necessarily, just.." Kakashi sighed again. "Look, it's not something we should be discussing here."

Gai looked distinctly worried by now. The moment Kakashi had admitted that it was serious, his friend had gone pale.

Gai tried to stand up, failed, then rolled his wheelchair out from underneath the table. "Let's go somewhere more private, then." He said. He pulled out his wallet and placed some money on the table.

Kakashi sighed again. He wasn't looking forward to this conversation. He nodded wearily and followed Gai out to his apartment.

There, Gai hopped from his chair to the couch and settled himself down with an expression that told Kakashi he was not about to leave. "Tell me. We may be rivals, but you are first and foremost my friend."

Kakashi smiled a little and sat down opposite Gai. When he'd told the whole story, Gai was fuming.

"Someone dared- what kind of coward- if I can get my hands on them!" He growled, practically launching himself of the couch. He couldn't walk very well with his injured leg, but he paced through the room anyway, ignoring his heavy limp.

Kakashi couldn't ignore it and watched as Gai walked, maneuvering his cast awkwardly around tables and chairs. "There's no point in getting upset." He said.

"I understand why you have to keep it a secret, but you should have told me." Gai said angrily.

Kakashi glared at him. "I should have done no such thing. If you understand the need for secrecy you should know that as well. You're not exactly known for-"He stopped himself.

"What, keeping a secret?" Gai said incredulously. To Kakashi's horror, he had tears in his eyes. Too emotional, as always. "I am an excellent secret keeper!" Gai blubbered.

With that, his composure melted away and Gai dissolved into, well, Gai being Gai and showing his emotions with much gusto.

"I would defend your honor and safety regardless of the consequences! You are my Hokage and best friend, and you are far too youthful to die!"

Kakashi's shoulders drooped. "Right. Gai, seriously- thank you. But I've already got a full team working on finding out who's behind it. I'd.. I'd appreciate your help, but stealth isn't really.."

"THEN I WILL LEARN!" Gai shouted. His eyes were so wide Kakashi feared they might pop out of his head.

Kakashi ran his hands through his hair. How much easier it would be if it was just him, finding out what had happened. No strings attached, no worried friends or colleagues hanging around him all the time. Just Kakashi, on his own, as he was used to. As he had grown comfortable with.

And how ungrateful for him to be unhappy that he had concerned friends.

He watched as Gai paced around the room, ranting some more about what he would do to keep Kakashi safe. In his mind, Kakashi began to retreat. All of this.. it was too much. He wanted out. He wanted to go solo. To get a good look at this whole mess without distractions.

No hindrances. No one else to worry about. No worried looks or being treated like he was made of glass.

Kakashi leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands. If he was Hokage, as people kept reminding him, it would be awfully nice if they trusted him to take care of things by himself.

There was only one thing to it. He raised his face from his hands and smiled faintly at Gai. He was going to go and make a plan of his own. He'd follow his friends' plan, help them out as much as he could, and in the background he'd figure it out for himself. He'd execute it on his own. And none of his stupid, far too loyal, limping, proud friends were going to be hurt or waste their time on someone like Kakashi.

**AN: **

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter, you're a star! Other than that, happy Valentines' 3**

**I couldn't not add Gai to this story. One of my favorite things about Gai is how he can go from over-exited gym maniac to a pretty serious and mature guy who is an awesome friend. We didn't get to see a lot of his fun, carefree side in this chapter, but I think given the circumstances he can be forgiven.**

**Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!**


	9. Liar Liar

**Chapter 9: Liar Liar**

* * *

There was something to be said about one's best friend having run away to be with a serpentine madman. For one thing, you never had to worry about stray snakes in the garden. More importantly, it meant the friend in question was intimately familiar with poisons and toxins of all types. Including, as it happened, the sneaky powdery kind.

"It's uncommon, but not unheard of. I'm surprised Tsunade doesn't know about it. Isn't she supposed to be some sort of genius?" Sasuke drawled.

Naruro barely managed to repress his annoyance. "Maybe no one uses it 'cause it's sneaky. Only someone without honour would use it, like Orochimaru." He said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Tsunade-shishou mostly dealt with the poisons commonly used in Sunagakure. As those are used for puppets, they're primarily liquid based." Sakura sighed.

They had reached the lab a few minutes earlier, and now Sasuke was inspecting the samples of Kakashi's blood while Shizune hovered nervously in the background. Like most of Konoha's visitors, she didn't feel very comfortable around him.

"Can't you get more samples?'" Sasuke asked.

Sakura shook her head. "Not unless we want to bleed sensei dry, which would rather defeat the point."

Sasuke hummed non-comittally.

Naruto shivered and folded his arms tighter around his body. He was feeling distinctly useless. Give him a battle any day and he'd be just fine, but Naruto was not made for sitting around and watching other people do all the work.

_Labs. _Naruto was no good at labs. He was no good at research. He was certainly no good at medical issues. He pouted a little and sank further against the wall as Sasuke and Sakura discussed the problem. This felt wrong. Naruto felt useless. Not for the first time, he wished he had more of an affinity for medical ninjutsu.

He closed his eyes and focused his attention inwards. _Oi, Kurama- no chance of you knowing anything about this?_

Kurama watched him lazily, chin resting on his folded paws. _What d'you think I am? I'm a creature of destruction, not healing._

_You heal me, _Naruto argued.

_That's 'cause you're a part of me. We're intrinsically connected. Without you, there's no me. Without me, there's no you._ _If I tried to heal anyone other than you I'd burn them alive._

Naruto pulled a face. _Please don't do that._

Kurama chuckled. _Hey, I'm reformed, aren't I? No burning people alive anymore, even when I want to._

Naruto smiled a little and allowed himself to resurface. His friends were watching him patiently, evidently aware that he'd dropped away for a moment.

"So, how 'bout you two stay here and do this thing, and I go out and investigate?" He said, breaking the silence.

Sasuke's expression was neutral, but Sakura's was anxious. Naruto wasn't sure why; it's not as though _he _would be in any danger if he went exploring. It was Kakashi-sensei they wanted, after all.

"I'll go find Kakashi-sensei, or something. See if he has anymore ideas." He added.

Sasuke nodded curtly. "Sure. It's not as though you're of use here." He said, with his usual tact.

Naruto growled at him, his hands curling into fists, but a look from Sakura stopped him.

"If you do see him, make sure he gets some sleep." She said. She sounded resigned, but Naruto couldn't figure out why. So instead he nodded, grinned at them both to convey his trust in their abilities, and left the room.

The hospital corridor was filled with the gentle babble of voices. A few nurses came by and nodded at him respectfully as he passed. Naruto made sure to give them all a smile and pleasantly warm with every smile that was returned.

He ambled out of the hospital with his hands in his pockets and made his way over to the Hokage Tower. Kakashi-sensei hadn't wanted to live there; he'd wanted to stay in the newly restored Jounin appartments. Tsunade-sama had practically man-handled him into accepting the tower instead, saying the Hokage had no business living in a shabby man cave even if he wanted to.

Naruto made his way upstairs. Nobody stopped him when he entered the Hokage's office and proceeded through the door that led to the apartment behind it.

The apartment was spacious and luxurious, so naturally Kakashi-sensei made an effort to use as little of it as he could. The furnishings were positively Spartan, and Naruto knew that if Kakashi-sensei was at home he spent most of his time either in the kitchen, on the old couch in the living area, or asleep. He wasn't much of a homebody.

The only thing that lent the room some character was the large book case in the living room. It was filled to the brim with books, not just Icha Icha but also a selection of adventure novels, literature and science-y non-fiction about topics Naruto could barely even understand the titles of, let alone the subjects. Kakashi-sensei was weird like that.

Kakashi-sensei was dozing on the couch, looking very much as though he'd fallen asleep sitting. Gai-sensei was sitting opposite him, looking bored out of his mind but not as though he was planning to move anytime soon. Naruto grinned and waved at him.

Gai-sensei opened his mouth as if to say something, but remembered himself just in time. He gave Naruto a tired grin in return and pointed at Kakashi-sensei, as though Naruto hadn't spotted him yet. Naruto nodded.

After a moment of clumsy gesturing and waving, Gai-sensei managed to convey that Kakashi-sensei had fallen asleep as they talked, and that Gai had stuck around to keep an eye on him. Once this was cleared up, he wheeled out, gave Naruto a final grin near the door, and left.

Naruto made a personal memo to never play charades with Gai-sensei, before settling on one of the fluffy red chairs next to the couch. It looked and felt completely new despite having been in the room for a few years by now.

Kakashi-sensei probably didn't sit on it much; he preferred the old couch he was currently lying on. It was one of the few pieces of furniture they'd managed to salvage from his old apartment after Pain had destroyed everything. Naruto remembered from his genin days that it felt more like a stone bench than a living room couch. Yet Kakashi-sensei was _sleeping _on it. How the hell did he manage? Naruto knew Kakashi-sensei had a habit of dropping away like a stone when he had to sleep, how he managed to fall asleep on that monstrosity of a couch defied reason. Naruto sighed deeply.

The monster couch's occupant stirred, and after a moment Kakashi-sensei blinked at him. "..Gai? Did you finally go for that face lift?" He said sleepily.

Naruto scowled at him. "Har har." He said dryly. "Gai-sensei left 'cause he was tired, too. Watching you nap isn't very interesting."

Kakashi-sensei gave him an owlish look. "Yet here you are, watching me nap. I didn't know you found me so interesting." He smiled widely.

Naruto made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat. "Don't start _that _again, old man. " He said, but he could feel the corners of his mouth curling up despite himself. "How're you feeling?"

"Uhh- alive. Let's leave it at that."

"Not great?"

"Not great." Kakashi sighed.

"Oh." Naruto scratched his head and pretended he didn't feel like a nervous, worried mess. "Anything I can do to help?"

"You could behead me. That would stop my headache." Kakashi-sensei said.

"Or I punch you so you can't make stupid suggestions anymore," Naruto countered, unsure whether to laugh or not.

"That would just aggravate the headache," Kakashi-sensei gave him a slightly pathetic look before he pushed himself up. "Alright, no beheading today. We can make an appointment out of it for another time. What are you here for?"

"To help," Naruto said, straightening his shoulders.

Kakashi sighed a little. "How, exactly?"

Naruto opened his mouth to reply but realized he did not know the answer. "Err- well, by protecting you-"

"There are currently at least four high level ANBU stationed around this apartment. Actually, they're there at all times, which is killer on my social life," Kakashi scratched the back of his head, "but the point is that I don't really need more people around for protection's sake."

"They don't know about the poi-" Naruto started, but a look from Kakashi stopped him.

"They know what they need to know," Kakashi said.

"You told them?" Naruto said, surprised. He'd expected Kakashi-sensei to hoard it as he did all his secrets.

"I.. allowed them to figure out someone has threatened my life. They don't know all the details."

"'Allowed..?'

Kakashi looked sheepish. "I forged a death threat and posted it to the door," He admitted.

Naruto looked at him for a moment. "Kakashi-sensei. Has anyone ever told you you're crazy?"

"Oh, frequently!"

"Good, 'cause you are. Why don't you just tell them the truth?" Naruto squinted at him and folded his arms over his chest. As per usual, Kakashi-sensei was making very little sense.

"Because they might spill the beans to people who shouldn't know about it." Kakashi-sensei explained. "Such as people in league with the killer, or people who might want to take advantage of the situation."

"They're ANBU. They don't spill anyone's beans." Naruto frowned.

Kakashi raised his eyebrows a little. "Not to outsiders, perhaps. But then that's not what I'm afraid of."

"What are you afraid of?" Naruto leaned back a little in his chair.

Kakashi-sensei sighed again and slouched even further into the couch. Any further, and it would probably swallow him alive, but at least rescuing him from the couch would be easier than stopping the mystery assassin.

"Well- to put it simply.." He ran a hand through his hair and then made a few quick hand signs. His chakra buzzed unpleasantly against Naruto's own, but after a moment Naruto sensed the chakra presences of the ANBU agents Kakashi-sensei had mentioned leave.

"I don't think it was someone from Sunagakure, or anywhere else. I think whoever it is comes from Konoha." Kakashi-sensei said.

Naruto stared at him. Something inside of him clenched unpleasantly. "But surely.."

"Mind control of any kind requires the user to be close to the victim. So whoever controlled Genma must have gotten close to him. Konoha's always got a close eye on any foreign visitors to the village, so if any of them got close to Genma we'll know pretty soon. If not them, I can only conclude that whoever controlled him wasn't flagged as a visitor but a villager." Kakashi-sensei explained.

He rubbed his hands over his face. "I don't have any proof, of course, just gut instinct and common sense."

Naruto stared at him for a moment, seeing the bags underneath his teacher's eyes and the downtrodden, almost beaten look on his face. He balled his fists.

_Easy now, Naruto_.. Kurama rumbled. _If I have to start telling you to control your anger, you know something's wrong._

Naruto didn't listen. "Why would they want to?" He asked. "You're doing a good job as Hokage. Why would they-"

Kakashi-sensei shrugged. " Plenty of people dislike the reforms I've put in place. Plenty of people have always disliked what they consider to be Sandaime's style or reigning. They disliked it in your father, they disliked it in Tsunade, and they dislike it in me. Or maybe it's just someone with a personal grudge. I've-"

He smiled humourlessly. There was a sharp edge to his eyes. "I've killed a lot of people, Naruto. Traitors to Konoha, whose families still live here. There are plenty of reasons people might want me dead. And even aside from that, I know I'm not exactly- well."

"Not exactly _what?_" Naruto demanded, squashing away the discomfort he felt at the reminder that his former teacher was, well, a killer. Even if killing those people had been justified- hadn't it..?

Kakashi-sensei smiled sheepishly. "Not exactly orthodox. Or to put in your words, I'm _weird_." He said, breaking through Naruto's thoughts.

Naruto frowned. "'Course you're weird, but that's no reason to kill you."

Kakashi-sensei's face fell. "I was hoping you'd say I'm fine."

Naruto grinned weakly. "No can do, sensei. You're mad as a hatter. Who else would forge a letter that someone's trying to kill him, or go around reading filthy books in the streets where anyone can see them? _Or_ be late to everything, which I keep telling you is really annoying-"

"Yes, yes, thank you, I don't need you to sum it all up-"

"Or the mask, or the whole hiding-your-face thing in general- I've known you for seven years and I still don't know what you look like! I swear, it's like you-"

"Naruto! Can we go get back to the topic?"

"Err- yeah, right. Got carried away for a moment." Naruto rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. Kakashi-sensei mirrored his movement and for a moment they just stared at each other. Then Naruto began to chuckle. After a moment Kakashi-sensei joined in.

"Just don't get too stuck on the _why, _Naruto." Kakashi-sensei said. "Sometimes things just happen. It's better to focus on the _what next._"

xXx

"-so rumour has it _Hanako_ actually slept with Shizuka, not Hajime. Can you believe it? I always wondered if she was-" The young ANBU agent cut off his story right in the middle of the sentence as Sai passed him by.

Sai gave him his best smile and stepped under the shower a few feet to their right.

The ANBU shower rooms were simple and entirely without privacy; square, tiled rooms with a few showerheads fixed to the wall, right next to a dressing room which was always generously supplied with first aid kits, veteran ANBU agents, and slightly musty towels.

While men and women officially had separate shower rooms, many of them did not stick to this rule and intermingled. It wasn't a big deal of any sort; when you were ANBU, it did not matter if the tired agent next to you was male or female. All you knew was that they were a comrade in arms, ready to leap to your defense if necessary.

Sai had gotten rather lucky today; the shower room wasn't very full, but the dressing room right next to it was. From the looks of it, a platoon had just returned from a mission. Its' rookie members were here in the showers next to Sai, a young man and woman barely out of their teens, but the older members were in the dressing rooms, murmuring amongst themselves.

He closed his eyes and allowed his body to relax underneath the warm water. It felt very counterintuitive; he was on a mission right now, and mission-time meant he had to be on guard. His instincts were screaming at him.

What he really needed, though, was people who trusted him. People who _knew_ him. These guys might tell him the normal gossip, but none of that would be of use to him. He placed one palm against the cool tile wall.

_One, two, three, four, five-_ every other second, he shot a quick burst of chakra into the tile, creating a low chinking sound that reverberated through the wall.

"Ehh, are the pipes acting up again? Better get out before the water gets cold," One of the ANBU agents next to him said, running a hand through his dark hair. "Damn it. Someone's gotta talk to the commander about that."

Sai waited patiently until the two others left. It wouldn't be long, if they were still here-

The hairs on the back of his neck rose as a new presence entered the shower stall.

"Agent six." A deep, feminine voice said behind him. "I wasn't expecting you here. You called?"

ANBU ROOT hadn't worked with animal names. It had worked with numbers. Before Sai had been Sai, he'd been Agent Six. Not many people knew that, nowadays.

"Agent three." Sai replied in kind. "I'm looking for information."

"I don't go by that name anymore."

"I don't go by 'Agent Six'."

There was a brief pause as the woman who had once been Agent three considered his words. She cleared her throat. "What do you need?"

Sai turned around to face his former teammate. Screw gossip. It was time to use his connections.

"When I say 'Fox', what do you think of?" He said.

Three's face darkened and her pose grew defensive.

Sai smiled.

xXx

Kakashi was in deep thought. Across the room, Naruto was happily munching from a bowl of instant Ramen he'd found in one of Kakashi's cupboards. Kakashi barely even took note of the loud slurping that he usually found both endearing and disgusting; his mind was occupied by other matters entirely.

His hands were shaking slightly, and even the idea of joining Naruto for a bite to eat made him want to throw up. Worst of all, it was harder to think clearly.

Even so, he'd put all his faculties to work to try and come up with a plan. It was starting to form in his mind now, slowly but surely; a rough draft of what he might do to lure their enemy out into the open. They could go on speculating all they wanted yet never get any closer, or they could set a trap.

The question, of course, was how.

He felt slow and stupid, as though the poison was addling his brain. Or maybe the exhaustion was. He ran a hand through his hair.

What would make such a person reveal themselves? Presumably they had some sort of plan, something in mind that they wanted to do once Kakashi was out of the way. Unless they really did just hate him- but if that was the case, wouldn't they show up to gloat about it, and tell him exactly why they wanted to kill him?

That was how revenge worked, after all. So perhaps it was logical to think that whoever was behind it had plans. Big plans.

Which he wouldn't reveal until Kakashi was well and truly dead.

Kakashi blinked slowly. Until he was dead, huh? Well. That fitted his plans perfectly.

"Naruto.." He drawled. "We should go outside. I'd like to stretch my legs for a bit."

Now all he really had to do was _die_.

xXx

As a young boy, Kakashi had always thought he would die in a glorious battle, taking out an enemy Kage at the ripe old age of 25, and sacrificing his own life in the process. It had seemed like a good death with only one downside; that his old man would have to attend his funeral.

Of course then Sakumo had died a miserable, drawn-out death, and everything had changed. The manner and timing of Kakashi's projected death changed, from 25 and a hero to 15 and just another soldier on the battlefield, one who had a disgraced family and dead friends. Then his fifteenth year came and went, and when he failed to die despite throwing himself into danger almost every day, he began to wonder if he'd go out like his father instead.

Not that he'd wanted to. He'd dreaded the prospect with every fiber of his being, but it had seemed more plausible than living to be 30, living to be Hokage, and living to be teacher to three wonderful, magnificent heroes. That had never been on the list of possibilities.

Yet here he was. As he walked through the streets of Konoha with a boy who was possibly the greatest hero of all time at his side, a young man he had the privilege to call both his student and his friend, he was living that exact future. Not even in his wildest dreams had he dared to hope for such an outcome. He'd have laughed at any man who'd suggested it.

He'd happily have gone on to be a shinobi for a few more years, help out Naruto when he became Hokage, before retiring and settling for a more peaceful sort of life. Perhaps travel for a bit..

But no. He was Hokage, which meant that he didn't get to run away- which was good, really. Kakashi was fairly sure he'd go mad if he wasn't allowed to do something for the village. But faking his own death was certainly not something he'd expected to be part of those duties.

Well, 'death'. Perhaps that was a bit melodramatic. Just a good ol' swoon would do the trick, really. Though perhaps he should have informed Naruto beforehand-

Hmm. Well. Bygones are bygones.

As they entered the market place, Kakashi could feel the curious glances of other shinobi and civilians alike as they took him and Naruto in. Well, time to put his acting skills to use.

His body was already aching with exhaustion from the short walk, combined with a low thrumming pain below his breastbone. It wouldn't be hard to fake it.

Kakashi stopped walking, reached for his chest and groaned audibly.

Naruto swivelled towards him. "Kakashi-sensei?"

Oh dear, this was going to be embarrassing- but he had to make sure he would be noticed. Kakashi screwed his eyes close in what he hoped was a convincing pained grimace and allowed himself to sink through one knee.

Voices grew louder around him, worried sounds issuing from all sides. He could feel chakra signals spiking in alarm as his subordinates looked around for a possible attacker.

"Sensei!" Naruto cried out, now properly distressed. Kakashi mentally apologized to the boy for manipulating him like this, but he knew Naruto's response had to be authentic. Naruto was not a great actor, and might not pull it off if he didn't believe it was real. Or maybe Kakashi was underestimating him again. Gahh. Well, too late now.

At least he'd grabbed everyone's attention. People were throwing him distraught looks, and a few loyal shinobi were already running to his aid. He felt touched by their concern, but doubly guilty for playing them all like this.

He let out another aborted cry.

"Naruto-" He choked out. "Hospital- _now_."

He opened an eye and stared into bright, worried blue eyes. _Innocent_ eyes. Another stab of guilt. He'd apologize in a moment.

Naruto wrapped his good arm around Kakashi's back and placed the other on his chest. After a moment's concentration, golden chakra wrapped around his body. With his golden shroud, Naruto looked almost like a legend of old.

Then Naruto wrapped his chakra around them both and, with a yank that made Kakashi's stomach lurch, teleported them both to the hospital.

Oh, _god_. That was unpleasant enough on a calm stomach, but now- Kakashi stumbled away from Naruto and managed to draw his mask down just in time to vomit into a waste bin. Unfortunately it was being held by a nurse who, from the looks of it, had just emptied the bin. She gaped at him. Kakashi wiped at his mouth and grinned sheepishly. Then he pulled up his mask, straightened his back, and turned towards Naruto. The nurse hastily retreated.

"Naruto, about that-"

"Are you alright? Kakashi-sensei- We have to get Baa-chan! Go get Tsunade, or Sakura-chan, or-"

"Naruto, really-"

"God, you look terrible sensei- we gotta get you some help, before-"

He took Naruto's arm and led him into a nearby room. He could tell it was empty; it lacked the smell of _ill person_ that he usually so detested in the hospital. "Naruto, I'm alright- or well, no worse than I was when we were talking. I-"

Kakashi spread his senses around. No hidden presences nearby, either. "It's part of my plan," He added. "It was an act. I'm sorry for worrying you."

Naruto stared at him in disbelief, a hurt expression on his face. "Wha- why didn't you just _tell _me?" He said quietly. "I don't understand-"

Kakashi sighed, feeling even guiltier than before. "I had to fake it in a public place, so word would spread. That way he'll assume I'm done for, and, well.. Do whatever he's planning to do. I couldn't tell you because I wanted your response to be.. believable."

"But I was _worried_. I thought you were _dying _on me, and I couldn't do anything to help-" Naruto argued.

Kakashi winced. "I- yeah. I'm sorry. I should have told you-"

"Did you think I couldn't pretend? That I couldn't help you make it even more believable?" Naruto cried out.

"Naruto-"

"No. Don't. You keep doing everything on your own. That's really rich coming from someone who preaches about teamwork. You can't keep doing this to us. You can't keep doing it to yourself."

Naruto's eyes seemed to blaze in the half-light of the room. He seemed older, somehow, and for a moment Kakashi was reminded of Minato, telling him off on that faithful mission that had cost Obito his sanity.

"You _have _to open up and _tell us_ what you're up to." Naruto added, and there were tears in his eyes now. "We _care_ about you, you idiot. We want to _help. _We're not those little kids anymore._"_

Naruto wiped at his eyes with rough moves and took a moment to master himself. "Now let's go find Sasuke-teme and Sakura-chan."

Kakashi stared at his student's retreating back. For once, he had nothing to say in return. Just a deep feeling of guilt and self-loathing.

* * *

**AN:**

_**"I can turn it on,  
Be a good machine  
I can hold the weight of worlds if that's what you need  
Be your everything**_

_**I can do it**_  
_**I can do it**_  
_**I've got through it,**_

**_But I'm only human_,"**

**'Human' by Christina Perri. A friend pointed out to me that the lyrics were very fitting for Kakashi!**

**I'd like to apologize for the delay- I had a hard time figuring out where to take this chapter, but now I've not only figured that out, but also worked out the outline for future chapters. The story will probably be about 15 chapters total, give or take a few.**

**Other than that, kudos to all of you for sitting through all the talking in the past couple of chapters. Thank you all for almost 90 reviews! I hope you're still enjoying the story. Some exciting stuff coming up; we're finally going to get some answers.**


	10. Warning Bells

**Chapter 10: Warning Bells**

* * *

Kakashi followed Naruto at a slight distance, wearing a simple _henge _ to ensure no one would recognize him. Not much of a point to acting like he was ill if others saw him parading through the halls. It was a hassle to have to constantly think of how each piece of the puzzle fit with the others, but it was the best thing he had right now.

He watched his student's shoulders anxiously. He'd messed up. He'd really messed up. Part of him knew his bond with Naruto was strong enough to survive their argument, but he also realized he had to change the way he looked at the young man. More importantly, he had to change how he treated him. His stomach roiled uneasily, and it was not just because he'd just thrown up.

Which reminded him that he _really_ wanted a spearmint.

They passed through the halls as quickly as Kakashi could manage, which was not as quickly as he had hoped. Sakura would have to look at the seal again; he felt faint, and his body ached. Perhaps the seal was leaking somehow.

They turned a corner and entered a familiar hallway. This is where Genma was kept. Two more turns to the left and they'd enter the labs. But first..

Naruto seemed to realize as well and slowed down, throwing a look over his shoulder at Kakashi. Kakashi nodded at him, before making his way over to the door. There was an ANBU guard in front of it, but after a quick sign that would tell the agent he was ANBU, himself, he was allowed in.

Genma was awake. He blinked blearily at Kakashi through layers of bandages. At his side, a heart monitor beeped steadily. "Who-?"

Kakashi dropped the henge and quickly placed a finger over his mouth. "Shh." Too much off a commotion, and the ANBU outside would check in on them.

"Wha- Ka-" Genma cut himself off. Whatever he was thinking, he knew to listen to Kakashi.

"I swear- it wasn't me, I didn't want-" Genma whispered hoarsely, pushing himself up on his elbows. He began to cough violently and was forced to lie back. "Are you okay? Did I-"

"You didn't hurt me," Kakashi said, neatly avoiding the actual question. "Don't worry. It's fine; I know it wasn't you. I came to see if you're doing alright."

"Oh- I-" Genma ducked his head, his hair obscuring his eyes for a moment. "I didn't really think- I struggled so hard, I did my best to make sure I wouldn't hurt you- and you're stronger than me, anyway, but I thought- you wouldn't expect me to attack you so maybe-"

Kakashi waited it out, sensing his old friend needed to express his concerns.

"I'm so glad you're alright." Genma finished after a moment. His hands curled up, wrinkling the sheets.

Kakashi nodded. He made his way over to Genma's bed and took the patient's chart. _Third degree burns on his hands, chest, and the side of his face, cracked ribs.. but no internal bleeding. _He took a steadying breath.

"I'm glad- if he'd killed you trying to get to me, I'd-" He stopped himself as an unexpected rush of emotion threatened to overcome him. Genma and he were friends, even if they weren't as close as he had been to Asuma or Kurenai, but he realized now that if Genma had died in someone else's attempt to get to Kakashi, he'd have been wrecked.

He sat down in the chair next to Genma's bed and looked at his hands.

After a moment, Genma chuckled. "Look at us, ehh? Old men worrying about each other. D'you know who this maniac is, yet?"

"No. I'd been meaning to ask you.. Do you have any memory at all of who possessed you?"

Genma's face darkened. "No. There was some Yamanaka guy here earlier asking me the same thing, but I can't remember a thing. It's a blank. I remember fighting you and straining against the control, but nothing before that."

So Ino had sent out her people. Good.

"I see," He said. They were quiet for a moment. There didn't seem to be any form of entertainment for Genma. Kakashi considered it for a moment, then sighed deeply. "I bet you're pretty bored."

"Yeah. They're insisting I stay in bed."

"Doesn't mean you can't read," Kakashi said. He reached behind him for his pouch, and grabbed one of his favorite possessions from it. "Borrow it." He said, placing _Icha Icha Tactics_ on the nightstand.

Genma looked at him as though he'd grown another head. "Seriously? You're lending me- wow. That's uhh. That's big. Thank you. "

Kakashi nodded awkwardly. Fortunately, he had another copy at home. This one was the signed edition, though. "Just.. don't drop it in the bath, or something."

"Right. Yeah. Of course. I'll be careful with it." Genma was still staring at him.

Kakashi avoided further eye contact and stood up again, feeling slightly better than before. "Well. I'll come see you again. I've got a maniac to catch."

Genma blinked out of his stupor and smiled. "Yeah, you do. Go catch that asshole. And don't get yourself killed by any other unsuspecting idiot who got himself possessed, you hear me?"

Kakashi threw him a lazy two-finger salute. "Will do. You heal up." With that, he left the room.

Naruto was waiting expectantly. He didn't look quite as angry as before, which was good. "Is he okay?"

"He'll be fine. Let's go."

xXx

Sakura watched Sasuke warily. Standing this close to him, she could feel his chakra burning as his Sharingan studied the poison sample closely. The Rinnegan, even more unnerving than the Sharingan, was fortunately closed, but Sakura had a feeling it wouldn't be for much longer. She wasn't sure exactly what he could see with it, if not shared vision with whoever carried a connected eye. Sasuke had never explained and she had never asked. For their current process, it seemed his Sharingan was enough.

"I have seen something similar to this," Sasuke said at long last, "A few years ago, when I was with.." He trailed off.

Sakura felt herself go cold. Orochimaru. Sasuke rarely referred to his time there, and whenever he did she could feel an echo of the terror she had felt as a child, knowing he was with that monster. Even now, having faced down the Moon Godess herself, she still felt an instinctive fear for the Sannin. Even more than that, fear of what he had subjected Sasuke to. Sasuke had survived, yes, but what had he seen? What had he been subjected to, as a thirteen year old boy...?

"What did you see?" She asked. Her voice sounded cold to her own ears.

If Sasuke was bothered by it, he didn't let on. "It's activated by chakra, right? The Chakra of whoever is subjected to it."

"Yes. We think it was when Kakashi-sensei.." She trailed off, feeling some second-hand embarrassment. "You know when he does that thing where he downs an entire meal in about five seconds? Turns out he needs chakra to do that."

"..And he did that while having dinner with the Daimyo." Sasuke said dryly.

"...Yeah."

Sasuke briefly pinched the bridge of his nose. "Sounds like him. Idiot."

Sakura smiled. That last word had come out more affectionate than sincere, though she doubted Sasuke had noticed. It was nice, at least, to have him reaffirm that he still cared for his teammates.

"So, what do you know about it?" She asked.

Sasuke frowned a little. "It's commonly used to give the victim an agonizing, drawn-out death. It should take long enough for them to suffer first. It's popular for revenge gambits." He said.

Sakura folded her arms around her body. "So I was wrong. I thought it would be very fast. That it would liquify-" She swallowed, "liquify his organs."

"Essentially, yes. But it's not meant to be quick. It's creeping. Slow. And it strikes when you don't expect it to. What did you do to treat it?" Sasuke asked, and for a moment his professionalism reminded her of the studious, hard working genin he had once been.

"I sealed it." She answered truthfully. "It's a new technique I've been working on, based on Tsunade-sama's theories from the Second Great Ninja War. She dealt with poison a lot in those days, but never got around to doing anything with her theories after Dan died."

"Dan?"

"Her boyfriend."

"Hnn. If it's a new technique we can't know for certain what effects it will have on the poison." Sasuke said. "Unless you have empirical evidence?"

And when _had_ that twelve year old genin turned into an academic? Sakura repressed a smile. "We have some, but given the scarcity of conflicts lately we haven't had a lot of opportunity to test it. But Kakashi-sensei was obviously in a lot of pain, so.. I had to do something." She trailed off.

Was that respect she saw in his eyes? Sasuke studied her for a moment, almost as if he was looking for something.

"Instant pain probably means he'd have gone on like that for a couple of days before dropping dead," Sasuke said indifferently. "I've seen a few people go through that. It wasn't pretty."

Sakura bit her lip. If her seal didn't hold, that's what would happen to Kakashi-sensei. She could remember those moments clear as day. She was used to working under pressure, was used to holding lives in the balance, but when it was her friends whose lives she was holding it was always different.

She still remembered holding Naruto's heart in her hand- literally- and she knew she wouldn't forget Kakashi-sensei's obvious suffering anytime soon either.

"Hold on, if you saw it in Orochimaru's lair- does that mean it's of his making?" She said, brow furrowing.

Sasuke gave her a lop-sided smile, and damn it if it didn't still do strange things to her insides. It _shouldn't_, but it did. Damn it.

"Orochimaru is an expert on poisons because he knows just about anything there is to know about them. But he's not the sole creator of all poison in the world," He drawled. "This type of poison was actually invented somewhere else, and used only by one group of people."

Sakura stared at him. He wasn't going to leave her hanging, was he?

Sasuke met her eyes directly, and this time his voice took a bitter tone. "It was invented and used by Konoha shinobi."

Sakura's eyes widened. Her heart beat sped up. "Wha-"

Behind them, the doors opened with a bang. Naruto strode in with a fierce expression on his face, looking every bit the man who had saved the world. His eyes blazed.

He was followed by a dark-haired stranger, who looked tired and distressed. Sakura frowned at his presence, but it was explained a few moments later when a puff of smoke enveloped the stranger and left Kakashi-sensei standing there.

A henge? What was the point of that?

"Naruto, Kakashi-sensei," She greeted them, still reeling from what Sasuke had just told her. "Are you alright?"

Naruto threw an angry look over his shoulder at Kakashi-sensei, who actually seemed to cringe a little. What had happened between them? They were usually thick as thieves.

Naruto threw himself down on one of the lab chairs. "Kakashi-sensei is an idiot, that's what happened."

"Nothing new, then." Sasuke drawled, returning his attention to the poison sample.

"Naruto, I already told you.." Kakashi-sensei began, holding up one hand defensively. He still looked tired. Dropping the Henge hadn't taken that away.

"Can it, sensei. You know what you did." Naruto bit back.

Sakura frowned. No way was she going to let her teammates bicker like this. "What's going on?"

Kakashi-sensei sighed. Naruto threw him a pointed look. Kakashi-sensei pointed at his own chest, as if to say _Oh, you want me to do it?_ Then he sighed again.

"Fine. I.. made a decision Naruto isn't happy with. I allowed whoever's after me to find out the poison is working." He said, stuffing his hands in his pockets in what Sakura knew was a defensive gesture. If you couldn't read a man's face, you had to read his body language. Understanding Kakashi's was something of an art form.

"What? Wasn't it the whole point that they _didn't _find out?" Sakura cried out.

Kakashi's shoulders rose a little bit higher. "It _was_, but.. Well, I'm fairly sure that whoever's behind it is a Konoha shinobi." He said finally.

Sakura's fists clenched. She glanced at Sasuke.

He nodded. "The poison is also of Konoha make," He confirmed.

Naruto gasped. "Wait, what?"

Kakashi frowned as well. "It is?"

Sasuke nodded. "Orochimaru had vials of it. I remember it. It was one of his favorites for interrogation purposes. If he wanted a man destroyed, it's what he would use."

Something flickered behind Kakashi's dark eyes, but Sakura couldn't read it. However he felt about what Sasuke had just told him, he wasn't going to tell them.

"Konoha. What.. part of Konoha?" He asked instead.

It struck Sakura as an odd question, but Sasuke didn't seem surprised. "ANBU. " He said.

Kakashi's frown deepened. "I was in ANBU. I've never heard of this kind of poison."

"The _other_ ANBU." Sasuke said.

The room went quiet.

ANBU ROOT. _Oh._

"There's two kinds of ANBU?" Naruto broke the silence, squinting at Sasuke.

A giggle escaped Sakura before she could help it. Leave it to Naruto to lighten the mood.

"ANBU ROOT," Kakashi confirmed. "We thought we had rooted them all out- excuse the pun- but it's possible there are still some remnants of it left. Either people, or.. their possessions. Someone may have entered their base after Danzo's death but before my men got there. It's not implausible."

"But _why..?" _Naruto cut himself off and looked at Kakashi. The anger from before had left his expression. He merely seemed confused by now. He sighed and shook his head. "Like you said, there's no point in focusing on the why," He murmured.

Sakura looked from Naruto to Kakashi and had a feeling a whole lot more was going on than either of them were saying.

Kakashi cleared his throat. "So. If you know where the poison's from and how it works, do you know if there's an antidote?"

He'd clearly meant to sound light-hearted - or as light-hearted as possible given the circumstances- but there was a catch in his voice that he hadn't quite managed to hide. Sakura was fairly sure that if she hadn't known him so well, she would have missed it altogether.

Sasuke's expression hardened. "There is only one way. Whoever administrated the poison has to deactivate it."

Oh, _no_. Sakura placed her hand over her mouth. No, that wasn't fair. Kakashi-sensei closed his eyes briefly, as if in prayer. Naruto got up and, with an angry cry, swept stationary from the desk.

For a moment all that was heard in the room was Naruto's harsh breathing. Then Kakashi-sensei took a deep breath. "Well, I guess we just have to capture him alive." He said with far more cheer than any of his students could muster.

"I'm not dead yet," Kakashi-sensei continued. His eyes softened as he took them in. "There's still time." He said softly.

Anyone else would have panicked, or tried to comfort themselves. Not Kakashi-sensei. As though he would have been at peace with it, if not for them. Sakura pushed that thought away. This was not the time to psycho-analyze her mentor.

"Besides," Kakashi's voice rose, "I left him with something to mull over. He probably thinks I'm dead by now, so whatever he's planning to do next will happen pretty soon."

Except that that wasn't true. Sakura gasped. "No.. the poison is meant to be slow. I.. I was wrong about that, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi's eyes widened, and for a moment he looked awfully young. "Oh. Oh, I.. see. I.. I've made a mistake, then." He said faintly. His gaze turned to the floor.

"You only just figured that out?" Naruto sneered. He seemed to regret his outburst immediately after. "Sorry. I guess you're not really.. feeling normal. You get to make mistakes," He added.

Kakashi-sensei just looked dazed.

xXx

Kakashi didn't bother with the henge but simply teleported himself back to his apartment. It was too straining in truth, but his mind was still reeling and he had no desire to walk.

He'd messed up. He'd messed up _badly_. Twenty six years on the job, and suddenly he was making rookie mistakes. What was he, a genin? _Never_ show weakness, unless it is meant to lure the enemy into a trap.

Except that this enemy knew his weakness better than he did. Fury coursed through his veins like a wildfire, and he kicked his couch. _Shit_. His foot disappeared into the woodwork and he hopped awkwardly on one foot as he tried to balance himself. Oh, _great_.

He sensed the two presences behind him just before Tenzou cleared his throat. He was standing in the door opening, Yuugao half a step behind him and still in uniform. Oh, even better. Let someone _see_ him embarrass himself.

And didn't it say a lot about his state of mind that he hadn't even noticed them until they were practically in back-stabbing reach? He was losing his touch.

"I take it you're not as bad off as they say you are, then?" Tenzou said dryly.

Kakashi glared at him, but as he did so the fire and anger dissipated again. He simply didn't have the energy to get so worked up. A dark, apathetic gloom took its place, the likes of which he hadn't felt in years.

"Tenzou," He acknowledged his friend. "Yuugao."

"Sakura told me what happened." Tenzou said patiently. "Although I'm not sure why you felt the need to punish your couch for it,"

"Not the couch. Punished my toes," Kakashi said, raising the foot he'd finally freed and pointing at his toes. They were red, and would probably bruise in a few hours.

Tenzou raised his eyebrows. When did he get so.. in-control of things, anyway? Kakashi was always in control of their conversations, not Tenzou.

"Kakashi-senpai, I think perhaps you should take a step back."

_Senpai_. That caught Kakashi's attention. If Tenzou was finally giving up on the -sama business, that had to be important. "What do you mean?" He said carefully.

Tenzou sighed. "I'm not sure how to break it to you.. But.. Well," He rubbed the back of his neck and looked even more awkward than usual. "You're not.. in control."

Tenzou gave him a weak smile, almost.. pitying. "You haven't been since you were poisoned. I'm.. sorry, senpai. But you've not been yourself."

Kakashi stared at him. Tenzou's words resonated with him in a way he wasn't sure his friend realized. Tenzou was _right_, of course. Kakashi didn't feel like himself. He didn't feel in control.

"You have always been at your best when you could control everything. From your emotions to your surroundings," Tenzou sighed, "But.. I think, maybe.. maybe you haven't given yourself enough time to process this one."

Kakashi sat down on the back of his couch. He felt a bit light-headed. "I just thought.. Finally, things were going.." He trailed off, looked at his hands. Damn it, he wasn't going to cry.

"We were at peace, you were Hokage, your friends were safe, and everything was alright with the world." Yuugao finished for him. Her voice was lyrical, quiet. "And then some asshole came to try and take you out."

Kakashi's throat constricted. That was exactly it, wasn't it? That was why Naruto's words had struck such a chord in him. _It isn't fair_, he'd said_._

Because it wasn't. It wasn't _fair at all._ He'd finally, _finally,_ found some semblance of peace in his life. Finally laid his demons to rest. And now someone was trying to ruin it all for him.

He was breathing weirdly, he knew, but he couldn't seem to stop it. Then Yuugao was there next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. And Tenzou as well, pushing a glass of water into his hand. When had he gotten it? Kakashi's hands couldn't stop shaking.

"Just breathe, senpai," Tenzou said. "You're not alone in this, and we _are_ going to solve this."

As if to reaffirm Tenzou's words, Yuugao gently squeezed his shoulder.

"I'm not alone," He managed. His breathing slowly returned to normal. "I'm sorry- I'm-" _A mess. A complete and utter mess and oh god I really don't want to die-_

He stopped that train of thought before it could continue. No good would come from going down that road. Acknowledge the feeling and regain control, but don't go down that slippery slope.

Neither of his ANBU colleagues- no, friends- said anything.

The room was filled with silence. Sunlight filtered in through the windows.

He took a deep breath. Steadied himself. Acknowledged the unfairness of it all, and moved past it. Life wasn't fair. He'd known that since his father's death. Get over it.

"Okay." He said, again. "I'm okay."

Somehow, since the war, he had forgotten he was a shinobi. Somewhere down the line he had forgotten what it meant; that he had to be ready to lay down his life at any time. And he was prepared for it, truly. It was just that it had been so long since he'd had so much to live for. He couldn't remember the last time, in fact.

He gave Yuugao and Tenzou a lopsided smile. "Sorry about that," He said, his voice as steady as he could muster.

"You're right. I did lose control, and now I've made a mistake. But.. some good may still come of it. I want you both to go to the ANBU headquarters. Set up a screening test, but do it in such a way that the operatives don't realize what you're up to. Disguise it as.. a psychological test, or something like that. Say it's on my orders, new.. health regulations. We can use those, anyway." He said, mind whirring away. "Focus on the ex-ROOT operatives first, but don't let them figure that out. I trust you both to accomplish this without too much trouble."

Sympathetic eyes met his own for a moment, before professionalism kicked in and both ANBU operatives saluted him. "Hai!" As ANBU commander Tenzou would take the lead, but Kakashi had no doubt Yuugao would also be very effective.

"What about Sai?" She asked.

Kakashi nodded. "I've already sent him out on a mission of his own. I'll let you know if he comes up with anything good. Now, you're both dismissed."

He watched as they left. Then, he walked over to the windows, slid one open and climbed through it onto the balcony. The breeze hit his face and he breathed in deeply.

He had a lot to think about.

xXx

The air was cold and damp, this far underneath the village. It made Sai think of a childhood filled with training until he dropped, protein bars for dinner, and his brother's encouraging smiles.

After asking Agent Three what she knew about Fox, she'd taken him down to ROOT's old headquarters quickly. ROOT's network of tunnels and underground chambers had changed little in the year since their shutdown, although Sai thought the air tasted more stale than it had before. Dust was gathering in the corners, but unfortunately not on the floors. No foot prints to be tracked.

Agent Three stopped in what Sai recognized as one of the officer's chambers. It was small, with thick walls so sound would not carry far. Anyone using killing intent in this room would be incapacitated by the network of anti-espionage seals covering the walls. A small bed stood in the corner. Whoever this officer had been, they'd been young.

Agent Three turned towards him, her arms folded over her chest. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, a sign Sai recognized as discomfort.

To ask why she had taken him here would be foolish. Either she was going to try and kill him- which she couldn't do in this room- or she was going to tell him something important.

"You're in dangerous territory, you know." She started. Her voice trembled a little. "Fox is someone you shouldn't cross."

"So it is a person, not an organization?" Sai asked.

After a moment, Three nodded reluctantly. "Yes. But I'm warning you. This guy.. he can do shit I've _never_ seen before. Not like.. level forests, or anything, but- he's dangerous in a completely different sort of way. He can get into your head-" She cut herself off.

"Who is he?" Sai asked, trying to shake of the chill that her words made him feel.

"You don't know him." Three shook her head. "And I'm not going to tell you. I.. We were teammates once. I cared about you- you were my responsibility. You and Shin were like little brothers. I already failed Shin. I won't fail you. If you know what's good for you, stay out of it."

Sai felt his own anger grow. "You're ANBU now. That means you're directly under the Hokage. _His _safety is your priority, not mine. If you don't tell me, it's as good as treason." He said coldly.

Three looked at him for a while. Then she sighed, reached out and took off her mask, revealing short, shaggy hair and a tired face. She was in her thirties, probably. Anyone that old and still in ANBU was _good_, and for her to be afraid of whoever this Fox was chilling.

"It's not that I'm not loyal to the Rokudaime. He's one of us. People are still telling stories about his ANBU days, and he's doing good things for the village," She said dismissively. "And if Fox is going after him than I will give my life for the Hokage. You should know that."

"You were Danzo's woman, once."

"And now I am not." She replied.

Sai sought her face for any hint of deception, but found none. It seemed that she was speaking the truth. However..

"Fox has already gone after the Hokage." He revealed, "So you may have to live up to your promise after all."

It was a bit of a gambit, but when her face turned to surprise and dismay, he knew he'd made the right move. She was genuinely concerned.

"What did he do? Did he force-" She shook her head. "What happened?"

Sai frowned a little. What had she been about to say? "He poisoned the Hokage. Haruno Sakura has it under control, but we are still searching for the antidote."

"If it's Fox's poison, there may be only one type of antidote. Fox is tricky, but he usually prefers other methods to poison. More.. direct attacks. Did he try anything like that?" Three pondered.

Sai nodded. "He disguised himself as someone from the Hokage's past to make him drop his guard and activate the poison." He explained.

Three nodded thoughtfully. "That sounds like him. Like I said, he gets under your skin. He _knows_ shit, just from looking at you. There's no stopping that kind of technique, no matter how strong you are."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that not even the Hokage might be able to take him down. _That's_ how intense his techniques are." Three said bitterly. "I've seen people who were subjected to it. Fox was in Interrogation, once. Long before he became ROOT. It makes total sense. He's reduced grown men to blubbering children."

"He was in T&amp;I?" Sai repeated, immediately making a note to check their records of past employees. "How long ago was this?"

"I don't know. Twenty years? Maybe less." Three said. "He's not the youngest, but don't let that fool you for a second. He doesn't need speed or strength."

Sai smiled grimly. "We have Team Seven on our side. They can take on anyone."

Three looked at him with what seemed almost like pity. "Oh, Sai. Don't you see? It's exactly people like Team Seven who won't be able to fight him."

Before Sai could ask what on earth she meant by that, they heard a sound behind them. Sai spun around, chakra already reaching out to meet whoever was behind him, but he was too late.

The last thing he heard was Three's scream before the world turned dark.

* * *

**AN:**

**And thus chapter 10 is posted exactly a year after chapter 1! I can hardly believe it's already been a year. Thank you all for hanging in there, supporting me and reading the story. Not to mention leaving over 100 reviews! Whoooh! This is a milestone I've never reached before and it makes me very excited to think about. **

**I'm quite proud of this chapter, particularly the conversation between Kakashi, Yuugao and Tenzou. Yay for actually acknowledging emotional turmoil and how people deal with trauma! I hope I did so in a believable way. **

**I've written a companion piece to ULH's chapter 2. You can find it in my other story **_**Dawn**_**. It's chapter 14. A slightly shippy look at Yuugao's view of what's going on.**


	11. Judge, Jury, Executioner

**AN: Warnings for some gore in this chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter 11. Judge, Jury, and Executioner**

* * *

Blood dripped across sullen stone features as the morning's first light shone on Konoha. Kakashi took an unsteady breath and apologized silently to the Sandaime.

Overnight, Hokage Mountain had become the sight of murder. The Third Hokage's statue, already cracked, had once again been desecrated.

The body of Sarutobi Hiruzen's old teammate and once-advisor hung limply from broken ankles, head down, bleeding from multiple wounds. Below his body, across Sandaime's lips, someone had written the Kanji for '_One_' in his blood.

Mitokado Homura, long time councilman and advisor to the Hokage, had died a horrible death.

"Take the body down," His most recent charge croaked. Kakashi observed the crime scene from the roof of his tower. He felt lightheaded, and for once he was sure it was not because of the poison.

This had been more than just murder, more than just a crime. This had been an execution.

Someone had seen fit to kill- no, slaughter- one of the most influential men in Konoha and it was very, _very_ hard not to interpret it as a message. One. Number one of many? Who would be number two?

Tenzou stood at his side, Kakashi's silent guardian. "Shall I arrange protection for Councilmember Utatane?" He asked quietly.

Kakashi nodded. "Do it."

God. Utatane Koharu would take this hard. Her old teammate, who had been her life partner in everything that mattered, was now dead. Murdered, and hung to dry across their third teammate's Hokage statue. Kakashi didn't like Koharu, for all that she was his official advisor and had supported him becoming Hokage, but he knew the pain of being a team's sole survivor.

If she hadn't been killed as well and displayed somewhere else, of course.

Kakashi reached out with his senses. He could feel the agitated chakra signals of the ANBU swarming around him. Half of them were, irritatingly enough, keeping an eye on him in case someone would try to go after him again. They'd all known something was up even before yesterday's little stunt, but now it was even more abundantly clear.

Kakashi could only be glad Homura had been killed and displayed at night, and discovered by his ANBU before the majority of Konoha's population would wake up. If the general populace had caught sight of one of their leaders' corpses desecrated Hokage mountain, it could easily have led to a panic.

Would this have happened if Kakashi hadn't shown weakness yesterday? Or would Homura have been killed anyway? Not many people knew of Homura's involvement in the Uchiha massacre; to most he was simply a steady presence behind the throne, a wise councilor who would make sure the Hokage would not be led astray by ambition or greed. Kakashi remembered telling Naruto that an attack on the Hokage was like an attack on the village. This was really not so different from that. Worse, really, given that the Hokage had _also_ been attacked and threatened with death.

Kakashi blinked. Was that their intention, then? Take out the top? Fox was certainly ambitious, Kakashi had to give him that much. Still, what would the point of it be? Cut off the snake's head and another will grow back- or, err, okay- Kakashi conceded that analogy didn't really work.

He was too damn tired for this much thinking.

Last night had done a lot to calm his mind. He'd taken a long bath and visited his parents' shared grave, where he'd spent a few hours sitting quietly and wondering what they would tell him, if they were here. It had been comforting and peaceful, and some of the tension of the past few days had finally left his body. Maybe it was just doing something other than thinking about what was going on that had done the trick, or maybe it was something else.

Waking up to the news that someone had brutally murdered one of his advisors, however, had squashed his careful optimism.

As he watched, two ANBU agents worked together to get the body down. A third immediately began to scrub Sandaime's statue. All evidence that could be found had already been found so cleaning it was the respectful thing to do - no one wanted Sandaime to look like someone had bludgeoned him with a mace- but Kakashi had a feeling it would be a while before he could look at the mountain without remembering this cold, cold morning.

Tenzou returned a few moments later, having sent a few agents to find Utatane Koharu. His face was drawn. "Homura-sama was kind to me after I was rescued from Orochimaru's labs," he confessed quietly. "He offered me his coat because I was shivering. He was.. he was a good man, if misguided at times."

_Misguided_. Ha. The Uchiha begged to differ. To be fair to Tenzou, he didn't know the details of that particular ordeal.

"Sometimes I think we all are," Kakashi sighed. "Tenzou, I need you to make the announcement of Homura's death. After that, I want everyone involved in this mess in my office. You know who I mean."

He rubbed the back of his head, weariness clinging to his body like a shroud. "You were right yesterday. And so was Naruto. Which I really need to tell him next time I see him," he chuckled dryly.

"Anyway, the point is that I can't do this alone. We have to call in everyone who might be able to help," he said, "and we- _I_\- need to show I trust them."

Tenzou smiled slowly, and damn him if there wasn't a proud gleam in his eyes. "Very well, Hokage-sama."

Kakashi crossed his arms over his chest and looked away. " Just.. make it happen, alright?"

He heard Tenzou laugh softly. Threads of chakra snapped out of place before reappearing in the distance as his old friend teleported. He was almost immediately replaced by a senior ANBU captain Kakashi could vaguely recall from his own ANBU days. Over ten years in the force meant Ox was a veteran through and through, his chakra tightly coiled within his body so anyone below jounin rank would be unable to sense him until it was too late. Kakashi remembered Ox to be fiercely patriotic and, more importantly, a loyal supporter of Sandaime's ruling style. He had a feeling he was going to need men like Ox.

"Ox. What's your status?" Kakashi said curtly.

Ox bowed lightly. "We have retrieved Homura-sama's body and will be taking it to the coroners. I have set three of my agents on finding clues that might lead us to the killer. The blood is being cleared as we speak. "

"Very well," Kakashi nodded.

"Sir, with all due respect- it will be nearly impossible to keep this quiet. It is early, but there are bound to be people who have seen this.. this.." Ox gestured at the wall with a sullen set to his shoulders, "There are bound to be witnesses. I would send my agents to find them, but it would be hard to do so _and_ keep quiet."

He gestured around him. Kakashi frowned- the Hokage Mountain could be seen from the entire village. Frankly, it would be impossible to find all witnesses- they could be anywhere in the village.

"Do what you can. The closer they live to the mountain, the more likely they are to have seen something useful." Kakashi said.

Ox bowed again. "Yes, Hokage-sama." He left in a flurry of chakra.

It wasn't long before he, too, was replaced. This time it was Uzuki Yuugao, one of the few ANBU who knew the whole story. "Hokage-sama."

Kakashi nodded at her. "Did you have any luck with our resident ROOT members?" he said, making sure to keep his voice quiet.

"Not as much as I had hoped," Yuugao admitted, "but it has only been a day. Some were willing to talk, but others still fear repercussions if they talk about their time in ROOT. Danzou may be gone, but he sunk his claws deeply into the village and left nasty scars."

"Did any of them know about Fox?" Kakashi asked.

"That's the thing, sir- not one of them knew anything, but the moment I started to talk about Fox, their behaviour became.. erratic."

"Erratic? How so?"

"Glazed over eyes, odd tics- one of the older agents started to twitch so badly I thought he was having a seizure for a moment." Yuugao said quietly. "I called in a medic but she said he was perfectly fine."

Kakashi let out a long breath. "Right. More fuel for the mind control theory. Or-" his brow furrowed as he thought about it for a moment. "Call in a seals expert, one who's good at tracking and recognizing them. Here-" He rummaged in his pocket and drew out a grocery receipt and a stub of a pencil he carried with him for emergencies. He quickly scrawled down a name and handed the receipt to Yuugao, who gave him a slightly amused look.

Kakashi shrugged and pointed at the name. "Have her look them over. If it's one of Danzou's deals preventing them from talking, we might be able to figure out a way to break the seals like we did for Sai."

Yuugao nodded, pivoted on one foot and disappeared.

Kakashi rubbed a hand over his forehead and tried to think of other possibilities. After a moment, he beckoned another agent. "Send word for Yuuhi Kurenai to meet me in my office in an hour. Tell her it's important."

The agent nodded, and disappeared as well.

Kakashi looked back up at the Hokage Mountain and tried not to view the blood still running across its surface as a bad omen.

xXx

Sai's head was pounding. A low groan escaped from his throat before he could stop himself. He could feel something constraining his limbs. Worse yet, he couldn't feel his chakra. _Chakra constraints, or seals,_ he thought.

He opened his eyes slowly.

A man sat crouched before him, his face hidden behind a fox-styled ANBU mask and a hood obscuring the rest of his features. ANBU-style boots peeked out from underneath the man's cloak. The toes were scuffed and the heels slightly rounded as though they'd been around the block a few times.

The room they were in was small and not unlike the private quarters Sai had been in before. Two guards were posted behind the masked man, each wearing a similar uniform. The only difference was a diamond shaped mark on the forehead of their masks.

"Are you awake, young soldier?" The first man spoke. His voice was deep and somewhat gruff. Sai blinked. Based by the scratchiness and depth of his voice, this was a man of at least forty.

"Why..am I..?" Sai's throat constricted and he began to cough.

"Why are you alive, you ask?" The man tilted his head a little. "Oh, well- you won't be forever. But these things require timing, you see? The best kind of message is one everyone will be able to understand."

Sai struggled for breath. Slowly but surely, he managed to control his breathing until he could draw it into his lungs without feeling light-headed. This was _Fox_. The man standing before him _had_ to be Fox.

The man responsible for what had been happening the past few days. The man intent on killing the Hokage, and doing who knows what to the village.

Sai would have to focus. And somehow, _somehow_, make it out of here alive. He had friends now. He didn't want to disappoint them by dying. Not like this. Not without purpose.

"I considered dosing you with _Gallow's Humor_\- oh, right, you don't know what that is, do you? It's that little concoction your Hokage has running through his bloodstream." Fox scratched at the side of his head, just below his hood.

Sai stared at him and tried to remember what he had learned about poison in his days in ROOT. Danzo had believed in playing on people's strengths, so once Sai had proven himself to be less than skilled with poison, the subject had been scrapped from his training. _Damn it._

"Buuut, well.. Talented young man like you, I couldn't help but think I might be able to use you for something a bit more useful. Anyway," He stood up and brushed off his cloak. "unfortunately, one of my little mice decided to squeak."

Fox made a gesture. Immediately, one of the guards moved towards the door on the left. He pulled it open and a second figure was thrown into the room.

Agent Three collapsed almost immediately. She'd been beaten badly, but through the blood and grime on her skin Sai could make out a jagged seal running over the lower half of her face. He recognized it. It was used- very rarely- on dangerous prisoners to keep them from talking. If she so much as made a sound, it would send a burst of torturous pain through her body.

Sai had gotten her into this mess. His gut rolled unpleasantly. He had to get her out of it as well, but he didn't think Fox was going to give him the opportunity.

"Now, Miharu-chan, what did I tell you about squeaking?" Fox kneeled next to Three and traced the line of her cheekbone with his index finger.

Without warning, he made a quick hand seal and placed his hand over her forehead. Miharu jerked away from his touch, but Fox did not let go. Three- or Miharu- let out a horrible cry, causing the seal over her mouth to activate.

Sai instinctively pushed back against the wall as he watched her writhe in pain, both from the seal and whatever Fox had done to her.

"Stop it!" He cried out. His mouth clamped shut. It had been a mistake to cry out; empathy was weakness in the eyes or a torturer.

Fox turned his head towards Sai. After a moment, he let go of Miharu's head. "Do you not believe that traitors should be punished?" He drawled.

Koharu dropped to the floor, wheezing for breath. The seal turned black again and her body relaxed into unconsciousness.

"_She's not a traitor-"_ Sai hissed, but Fox interrupted him with a nonchalant shrug.

"That depends entirely on your point of view," Fox said. He sounded like he was smiling. He clapped his hands together. Sai tried very hard not to flinch.

"Now," Fox said, "will you tell me why our _beloved_ Hokage is still alive?" With another twist of his mouth, he reached out towards Sai's forehead with two fingers.

xXx

Motherhood looked good on Kurenai. There was a healthy glow to her skin, gained by many hours playing outside with her daughter, and her crimson eyes had long since regained the fire that Asuma's death had briefly extinguished. As a single parent there hadn't been an opportunity for Kurenai to return to active duty, but she still acted as consultant and teacher more often than not. In a few years, when little Mirai was bigger, Kakashi would ask her to take up position as jounin teacher again. She'd done so well with her first team, after all.

"Mirai asked after you," Kurenai said as she sat down. Despite Kakashi's rank she was never very formal with him, for which he could only be grateful.

He smiled at the thought of Asuma's little girl asking after him. "Did she now? How is the little tyke?"

"Slowly driving her mother insane," Kurenai rolled her eyes with an affectionate smile, "and wondering when you will come and babysit again."

"That was a one-time deal, remember?"

"She doesn't seem to think so," Kurenai chuckled, "She had far too much fun finger painting with you."

"_On_ me, more like," Kakashi grumbled good-naturedly. He was still finding traces of paint on his best flak jacket.

"I doubt I've been summoned to talk about my daughter, though," Kurenai guessed correctly. "Not at seven in the morning."

Kakashi sighed. It was a hell of a lot easier to talk about toddlers than it was to talk about murder and potential brainwashing. "Yeah.. I'd have visited you if I wanted a social call. I need you to consult on something."

Kurenai snapped to attention, professionalism and experience kicking in immediately. "I've heard rumors about a murder,"

"Yeah. Did you see the monument?"

Kurenai frowned at him. "It's hard to miss. Why is it important?"

ANBU had done a good job covering it all up, then. Kurenai was perceptive- she would have noticed any obvious signs something was wrong.

"What I am about to tell you should stay between the two of us for now. I will call a meeting with the clan heads and jounins later today, but until then I want you to keep it quiet." He began, folding his hands together. He looked up at her over his knuckles.

"Mitokado Homura was murdered this morning. I have reason to believe his murderer will target Utatane Koharu and myself next." He said. Ha. Reason to believe. That was one way to put it.

Kurenai went pale. "Homura-sama..? Do you have any leads?"

"A few. Some more concrete than others.. One of them is that the murderer may have used some form of mind control." He turned sharp eyes on her. "That is why I've asked for your help- do you know of any genjutsu capable of controlling the mind and body of another human being?"

Kurenai's jaw worked silently for a moment. "There is the Sharingan, which can hypnotize- but then I don't need to tell _you_ what the Sharingan is capable of. Other than that.. There are jutsu that can make a man believe he is in a situation that forces him to act in a certain way. A friend made to look like a mortal enemy, that sort of thing.."

She shrugged a little. "Genjutsu can certainly affect the mind, it can even permanently damage it, but control it? Not directly. Only by making someone see things that aren't truly there."

Kakashi frowned. That didn't match up with Genma's account. "So it's not possible for someone to have been aware of being controlled?"

"Not under a genjutsu, no."

"I see. Thank you, Kurenai." He sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. He really could have used a few more hours of sleep, but in between last night's soul searching and this morning's tumult, he'd only caught a few hours.

Perhaps sensing his discomfort, Kurenai leaned forward to place a hand over his own. "Are you alright?" She asked, briefly squeezing his hands before letting them go.

Ah, Kurenai, bless her heart. He gave her a weary smile. "Well enough for now."

He contemplated telling her about the poison, but he wasn't sure whether he'd be able to take her sympathy right now. As comforting as she could be, what he really needed right now was to remain stoic. He'd given in to his fear and anger already- he had to be level-headed from here on out.

Kurenai tilted her head a little, observing him closely with those striking eyes of hers. He wasn't sure she believed him, but whether she did or not, she let it go with a nod.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?" She asked.

"Not right now, but I may ask you a few more questions in the near future. Oh, and-" He considered his next words briefly, "Tell Mirai I might come by sometime this week. Tell her hi."

And goodbye, perhaps. Perhaps.

Kurenai smiled, nodded, and stood up. "She'll be glad to hear it. And I will keep the finger-paint out of her reach while you're there. Let me know when you want to drop in."

She turned towards the door and made to leave, but suddenly she stopped. "Oh- and good luck, Kakashi. If you need anything, just say the word. I have your back." Her crimson eyes were sincere.

Kakashi nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Kurenai. I'll see you soon."

After she left, he leaned back into his chair. No genjutsu, then. Someone from ROOT, capable of controlling minds, not a Yamanaka- probably- and certainly not a Sharingan bearer. So what was left? An entirely new type of jutsu?

He flared his chakra sharply. In response, an ANBU agent dropped seemingly out of nowhere into the center of his office. She knelt down. "What can I do for you, Hokage-sama?"

"Get me Nara Shikamaru.

Kakashi folded his hands over his chest and closed his eyes as she vanished. His stomach roiled uneasily and his lower back burned. The seal was holding. Now it was time to find out whether Kakashi's calm would, too.

xXx

"I gotta say I don't really understand what's going on," Ino sighed, pressing a hand to her forehead. "All this going back and forth about who it could be.. I feel like I'm missing half the picture."

It had been half an hour since the announcement of Councilman Homura's murder. Half an hour in which Sakura had fretted away and wanted nothing more than to continue her research of the poison. Not that it would do any good. Sasuke had made that abundantly clear.

The villagers still seemed mostly oblivious to what was really going on. The announcement of Homura's death had shocked them, certainly, but the announcement had been vague enough that they didn't really understand that this was an ongoing threat. Homura had been an old man; most villagers probably assumed he'd died a natural death.

Sakura groaned at Ino's words and stretched out on her bed. Her best friend had come over almost immediately after the announcement to ask whether it had anything to do with the guy who was after Kakashi-sensei.

Truthfully, Sakura had told her she didn't know. Ino's skeptical frown, however, had made it pretty obvious that they both thought it probably was.

Sakura tossed her water bottle over to Ino. Her friend caught it easily, though she leveled Sakura with a weary look. There were dark circles underneath her eyes.

"You have to hydrate properly," Sakura advised.

"Sakuraaaa. It's too early for you to play medic. C'mon, you and I both know it's sleep I need, not water." Ino waved a hand dismissively, but she took the bottle and took a few sips.

"Which obviously I can't get while I'm _interviewing my own clan_. Dad never said being clan leader would be so.. _political_." Ino lamented.

Sakura took pity on her friend. "Out with it, then. What's bothering you?"

"It just.. feels wrong, you know? Like I don't trust my own family. But with all this mind control talk going on, I can't exactly deny it's possible that it's one of mine. I just can't imagine someone I know would do such a thing." Ino sighed.

"I guess you can never know what's truly in a person's heart," Sakura said softly, thinking of Sasuke. She quickly shook it off. "Are you.. are you getting any results?"

"Nope. Happy slappy Yamanaka's, all of them. I'd be proud if it wasn't such an inconvenience. Why couldn't I have a crazy uncle who likes to laugh maniacally and wear a monocle, or something?" Ino curled up her fingers into claws and did her best impression of evil laughter.

Sakura giggled. "That _would_ be pretty convenient,"

Ino sat up suddenly. "Say, if it _was_ a Yamanaka.. D'you think I'd be blamed for it?" She frowned.

"No- of course not!" Sakura said, startled, "Kakashi-sensei would never blame you for something one of your clansmen did-"

"But I _am_ responsible for them.I wasn't kidding when I talked about being clan leader being so damn political. It's _hard_, billboard brows. It's _really hard. _It's nice that I've got Shikamaru to commiserate with since he's in the same damn boat, but.. What I really want.." Ino's shoulders slumped.

Sakura felt a knot form in her throat as she thought about Inoichi, who'd been a serious, but warm and constant presence in her childhood. He'd always been there when she went to play over at Ino's, just as he'd always been there to pick her friend up from the academy. He'd been a great father, and a good man. He'd only been forty-two, and there wasn't a day that went by that Sakura didn't think he'd deserved better.

As she opened her mouth to say something, the door to her room crashed open. Sakura, full-fledged and famed jounin, and Ino, clan leader and rapidly on her way to her jounin promotion, startled so badly they almost fell of their respective perches.

"Hello ladies!" Haruno Kizashi interrupted them, his crazy pink hair sticking in every other direction. _Gah_. It was a good thing no one else had been there to see the two of them caught by surprise by her father, a perpetual chunin who couldn't have snuck up on a jounin if that jounin had been deaf, blind and bound by chains. "There's a young man for you at the door. I've let him up, he looked pretty familiar!"

He grinned widely in what Sakura recognized as his 'I'm making a joke' face, so Sakura groaned. "Let me guess: it's Naruto."

"Actually, it's me," Sai said, entering the room when Kizashi made way. He glanced around and Sakura felt acutely embarrassed of the still-pink walls and the flower print of her duvet.

Sai hadn't seen her room before, and with his judgmental personality she was pretty sure he was going to have something to say about its.. well, childishness.

Sakura glared at her father. They'd have words, later. She leapt up from the bed and smoothed down her skirt. "Sai? Is something the matter?"

To her surprise, Sai smiled and kept any thoughts he might have had about her room to himself. Huh. Maybe he was learning after all.

"Not really, I'm just here to inform you Kakashi-sensei has requested our presence for another meeting." Sai smiled, "It seems he's formulated a plan to capture Fox!"

* * *

**AN:**

**Dundunduuuun **

**My apologies for the lateness of this chapter. Real life decided to throw me a couple of curve balls and the rest of my leisure time was lured into a back alley and beaten up for its lunch money by other fandoms. Such is life.**

**Thank you for reading, please consider leaving a review if you enjoyed it :D **


	12. Miles To Go Before I Sleep

**Chapter 12. Miles to Go Before I Sleep**

* * *

Kakashi was good at planning. His first memory of actively strategizing was of tricking his babysitter into drinking spoiled milk so his dad would have to come back from his mission to take care of Kakashi himself.

It.. hadn't worked out, as even extremely uncomfortable and toilet-bound babysitters weren't actually reason enough to pull high-ranked jounin away from the battle field, but it had been a damn good attempt, if Kakashi said so himself. Anyway, the babysitter had quit immediately after and her substitute had been a big softie who liked to treat Kakashi with ice cream, so not all had been lost.

But the point was that he'd been doing this for a really long time. It was just a hell of a lot easier when he was one step ahead of his opponent, instead of the other way around. So, somehow, over the next few days he had to turn the tables.

He stared at his collection of _Icha Icha_ novels where they lay spread out over his desk. Only _Tactics_ was missing. He hoped Genma liked it.

Time to plan.

First, there was Miho- he picked up a glaringly orange novel with a buxom blonde on the cover, and placed it on the left side of the table. Miho, the Daimyo's wife, who knew more than she was letting on but was incapable of telling them due to some kind of seal. Miho, who may well have been purposefully married off to the Daimyo on Danzou's orders- except, of course, that Danzo was dead, so it couldn't have been his orders, could it?

It made sense, really. Miho was likely Fox's pawn. A seal to ensure her silence, and a marriage to ensure she would always be in the Daimyo's vicinity. She was one mind control jutsu away from being the ideal assassin, should Fox ever want to get rid of the Daimyo.

Kakashi picked up his least favorite of the series, a pale blue novel with a woman in a business suit on the cover, and placed it on top of the first one.

Secondly, Kakashi himself being poisoned and Fox trying to blame the Daimyo for it. Almost as if he'd been trying to cause a civil war- could that be his intention? But civil war required the formation of two sides ready to oppose each other. Would further investigation into Homura's murder conveniently point in the Daimyo's direction? The Daimyo, who would then be killed by someone who was obviously a shinobi, while his bereft wife played dumb and pointed a finger at Konoha?

He took _Icha Icha Glamour _and placed it opposite the Fox-Miho stack.

Was Homura simply a back-up plan? It made sense. If Kakashi had just played along and died in the Daimyo's palace, one of his guards might have been blamed for killing the Daimyo in revenge, when really Miho had done the deed, brainwashed or not.

Assuming it was Fox's intention to create a rift between the Daimyo's men and the shinobi, and that was a pretty big assumption to make, he'd probably make further attempts. Kakashi racked his brain but couldn't remember whether there were any upcoming events involving both himself and the Daimyo.

If only he had some sort of _entry point_. A place to search. Well, he supposed he did. ROOT was likely involved, or some remnant of ROOT, anyhow, but ROOT was not so much a place as it was an insidious disease which had carved its way into Konoha's core.

Someone from ROOT he could trust then, someone who could sneak in and do what needed to be done. Except the only former ROOT member he knew was Sai, and Sai was too well-known as one of Naruto's friends and one of Kakashi's supporters to be believable.

So, what? It wasn't as if Kakashi could just _invent_ someone and convince Fox he wanted in.

Kakashi blinked. But.. what if he could?

Maybe there _was_ a way. A smile slowly crept onto his face. He _did_ know an ANBU agent he could trust implicitly- someone who even had records for Fox to check if he felt the need.

Then again, he'd have to set it up properly. He couldn't just.. let that person waltz in and expect everything to work out. Fox would have to make the first move, and then, and _then..._

Kakashi's friends really weren't going to like it. Not one bit. Nope, not at all. But he would be recruiting them for help, so they couldn't _really_ complain.

Kakashi folded his hands together and chuckled lowly. Oh, if he played this right.. it might actually be fun.

Incredibly dangerous, of course. Probably life threatening. But in Kakashi's experience, fun and danger often went hand in hand. Or maybe that was just the fever talking.

Of course, he could just take a page from Naruto's book and use a clone. He frowned a little. It wouldn't get him all the way, but it might work for figuring out whether this wacky plan would have any chance of succeeding in the first place. It was worth a try. He crossed his fingers in front of his chest. "Kage Bunshin no jutsu!"

Half a second later, a clone appeared. The jutsu strained uncomfortably on Kakashi's body, but he felt strong enough to keep it up for at least a few hours.

The clone frowned at him. "Are you sure about this?"

Kakashi shook his head. "You're.. the insurance policy. Not the main plan. Do what you can. Get out if it gets sticky. Alright?"

The clone's frown deepened. "I don't know if I'll be able to get in at all."

"You'll have to try."

The clone hesitated, before nodding. "Alright. Just this once." His expression lightened a little. "Would you have gone yourself, if not for what Naruto said?"

Kakashi gave him an amused smile. "What do _you _think? Just go, would you?"

The clone snorted, threw a lazy and entirely sarcastic salute, and leapt out of the window.

Kakashi wiped a hand over his forehead. He felt warm and sticky. His temperature had been elevated for an hour now, and he had yet to tell Sakura. He probably should, for the sake of teamwork and not lying to friends and all.

He shook his head. The clone was, as he had said, an insurance policy, but hardly the main plan. He had another half an hour to think of something better before the kids would arrive. Well, the kids and entourage. Genma's injuries would prevent him from coming, but Tenzou and Yuugao would come.

Half an hour. _Come on_. _Show me what you've got, brain. You've tricked Kages and Gods, surely you can trick a wily old fox?_

He stared at his books. His head was starting to pound.

First, Fox had to be lured out. That meant dangling something he would want in front of his face. Kakashi ran a hand through his hair and got up.

"Can you tell me where councilwoman Utatane Koharu is right now?" He asked.

One of his ANBU guards melted out of the shadows. "In her quarters, Hokage-sama. Shall I ask her to come?"

"No, don't bother. I'll find her." Kakashi said. He would have had to anyway, to express his condolences and offer his support. His current plan just meant one more thing to discuss with her.

He got out of his chair, not quite as supple as he would have liked, and pointedly ignored the guard's aborted move to help him up.

It took him a bit longer than usual to get to her quarters, too, and when the ANBU guard had led him in, Koharu's eyes widened when she saw him. "Sit down, before you fall down," She said, as though _he _was the bereft one instead of her.

"Mahh.. Do I look that bad?" He gratefully sank down onto the couch and ran a hand through his hair.

Koharu sniffed and nodded curtly. Her eyes were red again and her voice sounded slightly more nasal than it usually did. Kakashi could smell the salience of her tears. She'd composed herself before he came in, but hadn't done enough to hide her grief.

"I've heard of your strange turn yesterday. Should I be worried?" She said, placing a pot of tea and two cups on the low table before him.

Kakashi was still debating on how what to tell her when she pressed her lips together tightly. He knew that look. She got it whenever he brought up clearing Uchiha Itachi's name.

"Your silence says enough, Rokudaime." She poured him a cup of tea. "I hope Tsunade and that Haruno girl are doing something about it, then."

Kakashi sighed. "..Yes, for what it's worth. But.. I didn't come here to discuss my health."

Her movement stilled, her hands shaking minutely. Kakashi politely looked down at his folded hands.

"First of, I'd like to express my deep regret over Councilman Homura's death. His loss must be very difficult for you. He was.. a good advisor, and I treasured his experience and wisdom-"

"What do you want?" Koharu cut him off.

Kakashi froze. "I'm..sorry?" He looked up to find Koharu staring him directly in the eyes. He knew he had sounded rehearsed at best, but he hadn't expected her to break her usual polite veneer.

"I'm not a fool. I know how your generation- no, you and that team of yours- think of me. What you thought of him. You'd have chosen a different council if you could have." She said calmly.

Kakashi bit his cheek. Her words had an uncomfortable amount of truth to them. Under other circumstances Koharu likely never would have said it, but grief and anger often made for rash decision-making.

He sighed. "My personal opinion of Homura-san aside, I have never wished death on the man, Koharu-san." He said, deciding that bluntness could only be combated with bluntness.

Koharu flinched and he briefly regretted his words. Before he could consider backtracking or offering more consoling words, she nodded. "I suppose neither of us have given you much reason to like us, aside from your promotion," She said reluctantly.

_It wasn't so much what you did, more what you _didn't_ do_, Kakashi mused, thinking of his father. And there was Itachi too, of course. So many lives ruined for the village's sake.

She pushed a cup of tea towards him, which he accepted with a quiet thanks. Steam rose up and curled through the air. Koharu folded pale, gnarled hands around her own cup. The surface of the tea rippled slightly from the minute tremors still running through her body.

Kakashi decided on a different strategy. He pulled his mask down far enough to take a sip.

"A peace offering?" Koharu smiled wryly as she took in his bared face.

Kakashi smiled in return. "I suppose. I know grief. Grief is personal. It felt right to offer something personal in return."

"Ha. You're an odd one, Hatake Kakashi." She looked away as if in derision, but she hadn't stopped smiling either.

"I've been told." _Strategy successful_. "Koharu-san- I realize you probably don't feel like sharing your time with young whippersnappers like me-" A snort. "-but I need your help to catch Homura-san's killer."

Koharu's slight smile faded. "I've already told ANBU Ox everything I know. Homura's whereabouts, what he said before he left home-"

"I meant a different kind of help, Koharu-san."

Her dark eyes sharpened. "Go on."

"Mahh, your lovely new security detail may have clued you in that Homura-san's murderer might be interested in you as well-" Another snort "-and as we are rather interested in capturing him, I figure we can work out something that works in both our interests. He gets a crack at you- completely under our control, of course- and we get a crack at him."

"You mean to use me as bait?"

"Unless you have a better idea.."

"You're bold, I'll give you that as well." She sipped from her tea, eyes thoughtful. "But has it occurred to you that you might end up with both your advisors dead?"

"I send out men and women to risk their lives every day, Koharu-san. Yes, it has occurred to me." Kakashi said soberly.

To his surprise, Koharu nodded."Very well. I am an old woman, and I refuse to be laid low by this murderer. I refuse to let him take what is mine without repercussions." She said, steel lacing her voice. Yes, she was old, but in this moment Kakashi was very much aware that she was also a _shinobi._

"Thank you." He drank the last of his tea in a few quick gulps and made to stand up, but a wave of nausea and dizziness made him wobble. He recovered before he could fall over, but not fast enough for Koharu to have missed it.

She frowned at him. "It's bad, isn't it? Whatever this is. Will you not tell me?"

Kakashi sighed. "I expect you'll find out soon enough, in order for this plan to work. Please meet me in my office in.." He glanced at the clock, "Fifteen minutes."

If she felt uncomfortable being ordered around by a man almost young enough to be her grandson, she didn't show it. Instead, she gave him a contemplative look. "You know.. We always thought you looked like your father. But.."

Kakashi froze. He was acutely aware his mask was still down.

Koharu smiled a little. "Seeing you now I think you're far more like your mother. You have her steel in you, I think. You will do what must be done. Your father gave up too easily."

He blinked back and swallowed. Well. A moment's silence later, he pulled his mask back up. He instantly felt more comfortable.

"Mahh... Appearances can be deceiving, don't you agree?" He finally said.

She smirked back, an old woman in silks hiding a sharp mind and an iron will. "Most certainly."

"And I suppose it depends on whether you're willing to confuse severe depression and village-wide hatred with 'giving up'."

He turned away from her surprised expression and left.

xXx

_Fifteen minutes earlier.._

There were children playing in the lake. Sasuke watched them from the banks as they leapt and dove, pausing only to splash each other. It was early, but the children didn't seem to mind. Perhaps they'd snuck out of their houses to have fun before class started. It seemed the sort of thing Naruto would do.

When Sasuke had been a boy, the lake had been Uchiha property. He'd practiced his _Katon_ jutsu from the dock, firing away until his face and hands were covered in soot, all for that single sentence of praise from his father.

_You are my son, after all._

After the district was destroyed in Pain's attack, the area was transformed into park. It was peaceful. Birds sang and children played.

Sasuke liked it. Itachi would have loved it.

But no more docks. No more Uchiha. No more comforting, beautiful, white-stoned buildings and brown roofs. No more _home_.

One of the children had pitch black eyes and dark hair. His skin was a bit too dark for an Uchiha, but it was all too easy to imagine. _What if, what if-_

A puff of air made its way out of Sasuke's mouth. No such thing as _what if_. He knew better than that.

It was quite a beautiful day. Sasuke wondered whether the land was still his by right. He wondered whether he'd be allowed to build a house near the lake, if he ever settled here. Part of him wanted to.

A familiar chakra signature appeared behind him. Sasuke sighed. Kakashi. The one person he did not wish to think about right now. No- a clone. He did not need Rinnegan to tell the difference.

Clone-Kakashi sat down next to him on the banks, sighing deeply. "I thought I might find you here."

"Should you be making clones right now?" Sasuke drawled, ignoring how good it felt to just have someone sit with him without fear or judgment. Thinking of Kakashi right now brought anxiety along in its wake, so his presence here, clone or not, was far from a blessing.

"Ahh, probably not," Kakashi conceded, "but it's for a good cause. Did you hear the news?"

"The councilman is dead." Sasuke said quietly.

"So he is. New victim of Fox, but Fox went with a more direct route than he did with me," Kakashi signed, running a hand through already disheveled hair.

Sasuke looked away. He didn't much feel like talking about this.

"So, you wanna talk about this?" Kakashi drawled.

Tch. Sasuke tried to keep the annoyance off of his face, but judging from Kakashi's amused expression, he'd failed. Damn the man. "No."

"Okay. I guess I understand that. I have to talk to you about it, though."

Sasuke sent the man a sharp look. "I told you _no_," He snapped.

"Mahh, no need to hurt your old sensei's feelings. I said 'talk to you', not 'interrogate you'," Kakashi held up his hands defensively. "I can guess what you're feeling right about now anyway."

"No, you can't." Sasuke drew away again, forcing himself to look out over the water.

He remembered Kakashi smiling as he'd told Sasuke everyone he loved was dead, all those years ago. Kakashi understood loss. But Kakashi's clan hadn't been massacred by order of the Hokage and his council. No one had sat down over a cup of tea to plan his family's deaths. No one had thought it was okay to send his thirteen year old brother to do it. And he hadn't walked in after to find his parents empty-eyed and broken.

The clone sighed again. It was starting to get on Sasuke's nerves.

"No, I suppose I don't," Kakashi drawled, "but I'm guessing you weren't particularly fond of the man. That you're probably glad he's dead, while at the same time you think you should be better than that. That Naruto would want you to be better."

Sasuke huffed.

"I have a favor to ask of you," Kakashi said.

"What?"

"I need you to sit down in one room with Utatane Koharu and promise me you will not harm her. That you will hear her out. She's going to help us capture Fox."

Sasuke's blood ran cold. "_Absolutely not."_ He hissed. "That woman should be _dead_ for what she did-"

"Yes. She probably should be. As should anyone responsible for the deaths of innocent people."

Sasuke's head snapped back to look at him. Kakashi was looking out over the water, expression tranquil.

"None of us are saints, Sasuke. I'm not asking you to forgive her. She probably doesn't deserve it." He sighed. The wind caught his hair and pushed it even further into disarray. The clone absently patted it back down.

"Then what do you want?"

"I want your help. I just need her help, too. I didn't want you to walk into my office in a little while and be surprised by her presence."

Hn. That was thoughtful, if you ignored that Kakashi apparently felt it was necessary to have Sasuke and _Utatane Koharu_ in one room. About as thoughtful as handing someone a helmet prior to slamming a hammer into their head. Sure, you saved their life, but why hit them in the first place?

"Can't you just tell me the plan afterwards?" Sasuke asked. He leaned back on his hand and gave Kakashi his best impression of the evil eye which, given that he could _actually_ kill with his eyes, was pretty good.

To his credit, the clone only blinked. Slowly, to boot. "I could. But wouldn't it be more effective if you were there in the room?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Or is this part of your plan, somehow?"

"Mah, not really, no. I just want my cute students-"

"Can it."

"My _cute _students by my side when I explain everything. It'll save time and effort." Kakashi repeated, making it awfully tempting to punch that damn smile right off his face.

Sasuke sighed. "You're so tiresome."

"Mahh, anything for my students. Does that mean yes?"

"You're not going to pester me into this."

"Oh, I'm not pestering. Bullying, maybe."

"Tch." Sasuke tore at the grass underneath him and tossed it in the clone's face.

The clone just blinked at him. "That's not very nice."

"_Kakashi_."

A sigh. "Yes. I'm sorry. I know. If you don't want to come, don't come. I'll explain everything afterwards."

Sasuke pulled his knee up and rested his elbow on it. He leaned forward a little so his bangs would hide his face from view.

"I don't know," He admitted, then immediately regretted it.

The clone shifted, the fabric of his clothes rustling. "You don't know.. if you want to be there? Or how you feel about this?"

"How I can help."

There was a brief silence.

"Sasuke, you are one of the two most powerful people in the world."

"Tch. Not like that! If there's a fight I'll fight! But I'm no medic. And I'm no good at.."

"What?"

"Comforting." Sasuke said reluctantly.

The clone chuckled. "I wouldn't want you to. Your bedside manners are atrocious." He said. He paused briefly before he spoke again. "Do you think I'm going to die, then?"

Sasuke looked away. "The poison can only be deactivated by Fox himself. He wants you dead. Why would he..Why would he bother deactivating?"

"Out of the goodness of his own heart, of course!" The clone trilled.

"You don't believe that," Sasuke replied quietly.

The clone sighed. "No, I don't. People like you and me.. We've seen too much to believe in happy endings. But.."

Sasuke frowned. "But what?"

"I do believe in my adorable students. And they've turned impossible situations into victories before." The clone smiled, reached out and ruffled Sasuke's hair.

Sasuke ducked out of the way with a yelp and lashed out with his good hand. The clone dodged with a chuckle and got to his feet.

"Whatever you decide, I'll understand," He said more quietly. "I understand how hard it would be."

"Don't."

"Don't what?"

Sasuke stared out over the lake, refusing to meet the clone's curious look. "Care so much."

The clone went quiet. A breeze picked up, tangling Sasuke's hair and blocking his view of Kakashi. The lake rippled.

"Oh, Sasuke," The clone sighed, "don't you see? Caring is all we have left." He brushed the grass strands Sasuke had thrown at him from his hair and put his hands in his sides. "I still have another errand to run. Real-me will search you out if you don't go. Make sure he gets some sleep afterwards, would you?"

Sasuke gave him a surprised look. He was used to his teammates doing the caring. They rarely entrusted such things to him. Sasuke stared at his teacher, feeling unsettled. "How did you.."

"Hmm?"

_How did you go from being broken to being this? Not broken, not _good_ like Naruto, or understanding like Sakura, but.. Caring. How do you still care about things?_

"Nothing." Sasuke said.

"Right," The clone threw Sasuke a salute, and walked off. He didn't shunshin or jump, as he usually would. He was moving a bit stiffly, too.

Sasuke really wanted to find Fox and break his neck.

xXx

The Hokage's office was crowded. Fox recognized most of them from their stint in the Daimyo's palace. The guards, the Nara, and the Akimichi boy who had almost unknowingly ruined everything. And most importantly, the Hokage.

Fox allowed his borrowed body to smile absently, in that way Sai often did. It had been a rather good idea to switch like this, although it had been hard to repress the young man's psyche. Even now he could still feel Sai pushing at him, trying to slip through any crack in Fox's armor he might find. Hmm. A pity Sai had been converted by Uzumaki.

Well, no matter.

At the desk, the Hokage cleared his throat, ready to divulge his plans.

Even better.

* * *

**AN:**

**Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!**

**MEANWHILE while I should be working for uni and finishing this story, I've also thought of two other new stories to write. Yeah. Thanks, brain. Anyway, one is a Team Minato-centric AU story, the other is a Kakashi-centric crossover..fusion..thing. Yeah. Should be fun, though. It might be a while before you guys see any of it as I have a lot to work out and I want to finish this story first.**

**I also went back and made some slight edits to earlier chapters. Nothing story-wise or content-wise, I just improved a few sentences that seemed awkward to me. I also realized I made the mistake of forgetting that Tenzou/Yamato actually **_**does**_** know about the Uchiha massacre and the council's role in it. There's just.. so much to remember :')**

**EDIT: I magically gave Sasuke one of his hands back through the power of language, which.. wasn't really my intention. Unfortunately I only remembered halfway through writing his piece that he'd lost one of his arms! Thanks to the guest reviewer for catching that one:D Another guest (Or the same one?) also asked if the death of the Daimyo's first wife means that Tora the hell cat is no longer around.. Unfortunately, the mongrel was rather relieved to outlive his master, and went on to live for another decade or so. Just out of spite. Miho adopted him.**


	13. Playing With Fire

**Chapter 13: Playing With Fire**

* * *

Kakashi's fingers rapped impatiently on his desk. He was slouching, one leg slung carelessly over the arm rest . The other arm rest dug painfully into his back, but it wasn't particularly distracting compared to the rest of his ailments. He couldn't decide which was worse; his skull, which seemed to pound with every beat of his heart, or his limbs, limp and weak like someone had replaced them with rubber. On top of all of that, his chakra pulled at him constantly as it fed his clone. Kakashi felt stretched thin and exhausted.

"So, to recap, first we get team Ten in, as well as Yuugao and you yourself. Genma's in no state to leave the hospital yet, so we will have to leave him out of the investigation for the most part. Koharu-san will come as well. Then Team Seven shows up as well, unless they run into any unexpected trouble, and we tell them what we expect of them." Kakashi said. He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"After which they will probably chew you out, senpai," Tenzou said wisely.

Kakashi groaned. "Probably. Well, maybe not Sakura. But the boys.. Definitely. They won't be happy about their part in the plan at all."

"They will just have to accept it, if they wish to be proper Konoha shinobi," Tenzou said, not without a slight degree of smug satisfaction. "They may be the strongest shinobi in the world, but they should still follow their Hokage's orders, as well as the village's rules."

Kakashi gave him a weak smile. "Try enforcing those rules, if they don't want to listen."

Tenzou blinked and swallowed audibly. "Well- they respect you, so- they'll listen. Won't they?"

Kakashi widened his eyes dramatically and shrugged. "Who knows?"

"Senpai-"

Someone knocked on the door. "Enter," Kakashi drawled. His chakra senses weren't as keen as usual, but he was fairly sure he knew who would be coming through.

He was proven right when moment later, Shikamaru, Ino and Chouji stepped into the room and greeted him with slight bows. Fortunately Shikamaru was about as fond of formality as Kakashi himself was, so he wasted no time with further unnecessary frivolities. "We're the first to arrive, huh? Can't say I'm surprised," He drawled.

Tenzou muttered something that sounded suspiciously like _it's more surprising that Kakashi-senpai isn't late for once_, but Kakashi decided to let it go.

"They probably won't be long," Kakashi said. In fact, he could already feel Naruto's bright, powerful chakra nearing his office at a rapid pace. When Naruto didn't bother hiding his chakra signature- which was most of the time, knowing him- you didn't have to be a sensor to feel him coming. His chakra was as hard to miss as the bright orange of his eternal jumpsuit.

When Naruto got closer, Kakashi could also sense Sakura's chakra- softer and much less obvious, but as precise and controlled as ever. Finally, Sai appeared as well, his chakra signature significantly smaller than either of his teammates, and not quite as calm as Kakashi was used to. Perhaps he was feeling stressed as well.

A moment later, Naruto came rushing in, quickly followed by Sakura and Sai. Kakashi wasn't surprised that Sasuke hadn't joined them, but he couldn't quite quell his disappointment either. He'd need to have a word with his clone about talking to angsty ex-avengers- or perhaps he should have gone and tried to convince Sasuke by himself. He sighed, and decided not to dwell on it.

Utatane Koharu, the source of Sasuke's ire, followed last, accompanied by Uzuki Yuugao. Koharu's chakra was frenzied and low, showing clear signs of grief. Yuugao's was steady as a rock, as it always was. The others threw her curious glances, but no one spoke up. They looked at Kakashi expectantly.

Kakashi straightened up, putting both his feet on the ground and resting his elbows on his desk. He had to force himself to look alert. "Mahh, you all know what you're here for so I'm going to dispense with the formalities. This morning, Councilmember Homura was murdered in cold blood. We have reason to believe Fox was behind it, and that he's after Koharu-san as well."

He nodded at her.

Koharu straightened her shoulders proudly even as the others all turned to look at her. "I have always fought for this village and its people," She said, "The fact that I have made enemies tells me I did a good job."

Kakashi took a moment to digest that statement, before continuing. "Fox is out for blood, which means he will show himself again- that means we have a chance of capturing him. When we do, we also need some way to make him release the poison. It's quite simple; what we need is either leverage, or a trap."

He looked around his office, taking in the attentive faces of his subordinates. They didn't _feel_ like subordinates- they were friends, students, and brothers in arms. He couldn't help but feel glad that it was this group who had been with him on that faithful mission. Only poor Genma was missing.

Shikamaru shifted his weight onto his right leg. "Blackmail? Or a hostage?"

Kakashi nodded. "Something like that. For that to work, we first need to figure out who he is and whether he has any leverage at all. If he really _is _Konoha, there will be records. And even if he is an orphan, even if he lost friends in the war, there has to be something he is fighting for."

"If we could figure out what exactly he wants we can predict his actions. Or perhaps we could seek out Miho-san again-" Yuugao said.

"About her, I strongly suspect she is either under his control or that he has the ability to place her under his control," Kakashi said.

Yuugao looked unsurprised, as did Shikamaru. The others looked at him with varying degrees of surprise.

"If Miho-san is under his control he could make her kill the Daimyo," Sakura said thoughtfully. "But what if she lied to you? Maybe she just pretended to support you. 'Watch your back' is not exactly life-saving advice. She could be his co-conspirator. If she is, maybe he cares about her. Maybe we could use her as leverage."

Kakashi sighed. "We can only speculate, Sakura.. And place additional guards near the Daimyo, which we've already arranged."

"Ino, any luck with the Yamanaka?" Kakashi asked, immediately moving on to the next topic.

Ino shook her head. "I asked the help of my uncle, who knows just about everyone in the clan. We screened them together, but didn't find anyone who was anything other than loyal to Konoha. We.. We do know of a Yamanaka who was part of ROOT, but.."

Kakashi frowned. "Tell me about them."

"His name was Yamanaka Fuu. He was about twenty years old, and we know he died in the Fourth Great Ninja War, alongside Aburame Torune." Ino pulled a picture from her pouch, showing a young man with ginger hair and a serious expression, both of them unusual for the Yamanaka clan.

"Was he an orphan?" Kakashi asked.

"No, but both his parents had retired. His mother died a year or so after he did, but his father is still alive. Danzou recruited Fuu when he was a young boy. Apparently my father was very angry about it."

Kakashi sighed. "I can imagine. Try to find out what you can about this Fuu. Talk to his father, and figure out if he's got any angry friends or relatives we might want to look out for. Do you know who killed Fuu?"

Ino blinked rapidly before turning her gaze down to her feet, looking unusually demure. "They think it was Uchiha Obito, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi's breath caught in his chest. Two years since, and he still wasn't used to hearing that. "Right. Thank you for your hard work, Ino."

He paused, considering. Apparently she caught his thoughtful expression, because Ino didn't immediately respond.

"Ino, when you meet with Fuu's father.. I'd like to be there as well." He said, hesitantly. It was a spur of the moment decision. This man, whoever he was, had lost his son because of Obito. That meant he'd indirectly lost him as the consequence of Kakashi's past actions. Kakashi didn't blame himself, not quite, but he felt the need to see for himself what Obito's actions had caused.

Ino nodded. If she questioned his decision, she didn't say so. "I was planning to meet with him this afternoon, Hokage-sama."

Kakashi nodded. Judging by the vaguely sympathetic expressions on some of the other shinobi's faces, they understood why he wanted to come along. He cleared his throat, feeling embarrassed, and decided to continue.

"Sai? Did you find anything in ROOT's old quarters?" He said.

Sai blinked and focused on Kakashi. "Nothing notable. I intended to contact one of my old teammates, but she did not respond. I entered HQ but found nothing out of the ordinary."

"Was there any sign that someone had been there recently?" Kakashi asked.

Sai shook his head. "Only dust and cobwebs, sensei."

Kakashi sighed. It seemed it was too much to ask that Fox had gone the obvious route and chosen ROOT HQ as his base of operations. Still, it had been worth checking out.

"All of this seems so contrived," Koharu shook her head as she voiced Kakashi's own concern. "All you can do is speculate about this ghost-like assassin. You talk and talk, but you are no closer to taking Fox down. Even if you find out who he is, how are you going to catch him?"

"Well, I was about to get to that," Kakashi said. "The leverage plan is the best case scenario. In all likelihood, however, we're not going to figure out who Fox is until we capture or kill him. So I came up with a second plan. That's where you come in, Koharu-san."

Koharu frowned. "I am the bait, correct?"

Kakashi nodded. "Yes, but just using you as bait and waiting for him to jump out of hiding would be naive. He's clever- he'll expect that. In fact, I suspect it's what he's aiming for. So, I have a different idea. Hear me out.."

"You, Koharu-san, are going to disappear. Then, we will leak your true location to a number of sources- for example, a former ROOT agent Tenzou finds suspicious. If no one comes after you, no problem. If someone does, we'll be able to figure out who his informants are. Ino, am I correct in thinking that any form of mind control leaves traces on the controlled person's mind?" Kakashi said.

Ino looked slightly surprised. "Well, yes- tiny foreign chakra markers can be found in the victim's system for some time afterwards, but they are extremely hard to detect. In fact, you'd have to be a highly skilled sensor to see it." She said.

"Does your clan have such sensors?" Kakashi asked.

Ino thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yes. And Morino Ibiki-san might be able to do it as well. He knows what to look for from working with my father."

"Good. Then we might be able to figure out whether those informants were forced or not. It might be useful to know." Kakashi folded his hands together and leaned his chin on them. Koharu's words still rankled. It was a plan, but there was no way of knowing it would work. Not to mention that Kakashi hadn't included any sort of plan for getting Fox to release the poison.

He shook it off. "Team Ten, your mission will be to accompany Koharu-san and trap Fox or his accomplices should they attack. Yuugao, Tenzou, your mission will be to leak information to the right people, whom you suspect are the likeliest to work with the likes of Fox."

"Yes, sir," The aforementioned people said.

Before they could continue, the door opened once more and Uchiha Sasuke strode in like an avenging demon, all dark looks and fierce chakra. As he did so, Utatane Koharu's pride seemed to whither and die, and instead of the proud kunoichi only a broken old woman was left.

Kakashi wondered whether Sasuke had noticed, and if he had, whether he enjoyed it. Kakashi wondered whether he should, himself.

Koharu didn't meet Sasuke's eye, and Sasuke completely ignored her. Instead, he gave the barest of nods at Naruto, who was grinning widely, and Sakura, who seemed pleased to see him for once. Then, he stared Kakashi down. "I'm here now. What do you want me to do?"

Kakashi braved Sasuke's odd mismatched stare, wondering briefly if other people had ever felt so uncomfortable looking into his own eyes when he'd still had a Sharingan, and cleared his throat. "I just finished explaining the plan to the others. I will tell you what I expect of you in a moment. Please take a seat or wait with the others, in the meantime."

He remembered that in Sasuke's case, looks could actually kill, but pushed the thought aside. If Sasuke was going to be a functional member of Konoha society, he would have to be able to take orders he disliked. This was the first test.

Sasuke seemed like he would protest, just for a moment, but then he seemed to reign his temper in. He huffed. "Right." He joined Naruto on the right side of the room, far away from Koharu. Koharu sagged in relief, then tried to hide it rather ineffectively.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head and tried to salvage the situation. Trust Sasuke to make a dramatic entrance at just the right time to create complete chaos. "Sai, I want you to escort Koharu-san back to her chambers and stand as her guard. ANBU Ox will take over for the night shift. Tomorrow, Koharu-san and Team Ten will disappear. Shikamaru, I expect you will figure out a way to make this happen."

Shikamaru nodded half-heartedly. "Troublesome.."

Both ANBU agents nodded. Koharu turned towards Kakashi one last time. "Good luck, Hokage."

"And you, Koharu-san."

"We'll get him. Be sure of it." She replied. She threw one last nervous glance at Sasuke, who had yet to look at her. Koharu left the room a broken woman, pale, small and old, and holding on to Sai's arm for support. Despite everything, Kakashi couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for her.

After discussing Ino, Shikamaru, Yuugao and Chouji's parts in the plan one more time, the four of them left the room as well, leaving only Tenzou, Kakashi, and his former students.

Sakura frowned a little and opened her mouth to say something, but Naruto got there first.

"What kind of people are in ROOT anyway? Are they all like.." Naruto hesitated, "Well, like Sai?"

"Danzou went after Konoha's orphans, particularly those who showed talent. Their lack of a support system made them easy targets," Tenzou said quietly in Sai's stead. "Kakashi-senpai and I were both recruited. Fortunately, we were not nearly as easily influenced as Danzou thought. "

Kakashi smiled at Tenzou, remembering rough fights in ROOT's tunnels, _Mokuton_ against _Raikiri._"Not without you trying to kill me several times first, of course," He grinned, eager to get Tenzou riled up again.

Tenzou gave him a panicked look. Ah yes, a classic_ 'Senpai-what-are-you-doing-to-me' _expression. eight points out of ten. Bonus points for the slight squeak in his voice when he said, "Senpai! "

Of course, now everyone was looking at poor Tenzou like he'd kicked a puppy. Or, well, attempted to murder the Hokage as a child, in this case. Which was practically the same thing- if puppies were usually in the business of throwing knives, killing people, and being insufferable brats. "Well, maybe it wasn't quite as bad as that-" Kakashi attempted to improve the situation, but he was too late.

Sasuke's chakra was tight and angry below the surface of his skin, sending chills down Kakashi's back. "You were ROOT?" Sasuke growled.

"Wait, what?!" Naruto looked from Kakashi to Tenzou, just as Sakura said, "Captain, you tried to kill Sensei?"

Tenzou winced. "Kakashi-senpai realized ROOT was wrong before I did. He was a bit older than me, and closer to the Sandaime. Besides that, he'd already been part of the regular ANBU when he was recruited. When Danzou figured out he had lost Kakashi-senpai's loyalty, he sent me after him. While I fought him, senpai managed to convince me he was right, and I backed off."

"Danzou wanted to recruit you both, and when stopped following his orders he made you kill each other?" Sakura asked quietly.

From the corner of his eye, Kakashi saw Sasuke smile bitterly. He looked utterly unsurprised by this new piece of information.

Kakashi scratched the back of his head. "More or less. He was sneaky, conniving, and utterly ruthless. He could turn ten year old boys into assassins, if he so wanted. I'm sure Sai has a few stories of his own,"

Sasuke still had that bitter sneer on his face. "So he lured you three in with promises of finding a home, and turned you into his own little soldiers." He said bitterly.

"Mahh- being in ROOT differed from being in ANBU in only one aspect; who you took your orders from," Kakashi said. He closed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "Don't let Sandaime-sama's kindness and way with children fool you; he could be as ruthless as Danzou, when he had to be. But then I suppose you already know that, don't you?"

Sasuke's chakra rolled dangerously.

In a way, Kakashi reflected, the whole shinobi system was like that; a rotten institution that lured children in with promises of fame and glory, but instead left them with dead friends and PTSD- if they were lucky. It was why famous shinobi were given titles and adressed with 'sama', and why those who had fallen were termed heroes; all kids wanted to be heroes, and at every turn they were told that to become a hero you had to become a ninja. Be like the Yellow Flash, or the White Fang! Never mind the fact that both of them had died horrible deaths before the age of forty. The legends never told of the pain, or the misery.

The price for Kakashi's own fame was a dead family, a dead team, and a lifetime of regrets. And yet here he was, perpetuating the system. He would have to do something about that.

Kakashi took a brief moment to reflect on the fact that he was starting to sound like Naruto, and decided that he liked it.

Naruto was still frowning. "You were both orphans?" He cut through the brief silence, looking from Tenzou to Kakashi. His eyes shone with an understanding that almost hurt. The others gave him surprised looks.

Kakashi nodded slowly, and watched as Tenzou grimaced. Tenzou didn't know his parents' names, where they lived, or even if they were still alive. They could be out there even now, always yearning for the son they had lost to Orochimaru all those years ago.

Kakashi's father had been buried anonymously with his wife so people wouldn't be able to defile his grave. The only indication that they shared a stone was the small, unreadable carving beneath her name Kakashi had left there once when he had been angry and young and painfully lonely.

In hindsight, it must have been laughably easy for Danzou to talk young orphans into joining his cause.

Kakashi sighed. "Assuming Fox was originally ROOT, it could be he was recruited in a similar manner. Tenzou, you have access to their records. See if you can find any likely candidates. Male, forties, mind control. Not a lot to go on, but it's better than nothing. Check out this Fuu as well. Ino is clever and insightful, but biased. She doesn't want someone in her family to be Fox. Did anyone find Fuu's body? We have to be sure."

Tenzou nodded. "Is that also why you are going with her to talk to Fuu's father?"

"Err- yeah. Sort of," Kakashi ran a hand through his hair and avoided Tenzou's eyes.

"What can we do? Are we going after Fox directly? Or keeping you out of trouble, or-" Naruto stopped himself when he saw Kakashi's sullen expression. He was still looking at Kakashi and Tenzou with what Kakashi privately called his patented Empathy Look, capital E L- the one he reserved for orphans and jinchuuriki's, but the barely constrained energy he always seemed to be buzzing with slowly disappeared.

"We're not, are we?" He said, slowly.

"There's not much room in your plan for us, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura added gently.

"I want to do something- if I can't fight, I'll research, I'll-" Naruto frowned deeply and thought for a moment. "If they're ROOT, they wouldn't just sit out in the open, right? I could go into Sage Mode and see if I can sense people's chakra in unusual places."

Kakashi gave him a weary look. "Naruto.. you're the strongest shinobi I've ever met, I have no doubt about that. But right now, what we need is subterfuge. I want you to hang back for now- when the ball really starts rolling, I will need you by my side, but right now I just need you safe."

Naruto blinked at him.

Kakashi rubbed his temples tiredly. The headaches were getting worse and worse. "Everyone knows you're going to be my successor. It's not too much of a leap to think Fox might want to try poisoning you, too. There isn't a man or woman alive who can beat you in a fair fight, so if someone wants you dead _they won't play fair_. I want you to take it easy and make sure you're not alone. When I need you at my side, I will let you know. In the meantime, you can help Sakura."

Naruto's response was a study in mixed emotion. His eyes shone with pride and the slight wobble in his lips gave away the depth of his happiness at being called Kakashi's successor, but disappointment rolled off his shoulders in waves. He always wanted to fight, that boy. Particularly when it concerned his friends. Kakashi felt a little touched by it, truth be told.

Kakashi continued. "As for you, Sakura- I trust you to figure out the workings of this poison. If anyone can do it, you can. We already know one way to cure it, but chances are we're not going to convince Fox to play nice and help out. You're the contingency plan."

Sakura nodded determinedly, every inch the confident, prideful young woman Tsunade had turned her into. "I will do it, sensei. I'll find a way."

Sasuke, hand in his pocket, dark hair obscuring his eyes, studied his feet. "I can scout the village. See what I can find. I'm good at subterfuge, unlike the knucklehead."

Kakashi had seen Sasuke's frustration during their last conversation, and it would be good for him to feel useful. Besides, this was _Sasuke_, who tended to gain skills whenever you so much as looked away. Knowing him and Naruto, they'd have Fox bound and trussed in two hours flat if they really tried their best.

However.. Kakashi shook his head. "Sasuke, the moment it gets out that Homura was murdered, you are going to be suspect number one. They may not know why you hate the council, but they know that you do, and for some people that's all they'll need. They might not be able to beat you in a fight, but _trust _me, rumors can destroy people too. That's why I need you to stay at my side- that's the only way people are going to believe you weren't behind it. Either that, or stick with-"

"Then why call me here? Why send the clone, convince me to meet with _that woman-_" Sasuke burst out.

"So we have witnesses that saw the two of you together. Witnesses who saw you, fully in control, around Utatane Koharu, who saw that _I trust you with my life._" Kakashi said sharply. "This is politics, Sasuke."

Sasuke held his gaze for what felt like a long time. Kakashi met his gaze steadily. He wasn't proud of himself for playing Sasuke or the others like this, but he didn't regret it either.

Finally, Sasuke looked away, and the tension in the room broke. "Fine. I'll just-"

"Actually, Sasuke-kun, I could use your help," Sakura interrupted. She was very pointedly _not_ looking at Sasuke. "You know more about the poison than I do, so your knowledge would come in handy. Either that, or you could write me a report on everything you know about it. After that, you can go with Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi gaped at her for a moment, before grinning behind his mask as Sasuke did a double-take. She met Kakashi's eyes just long enough for her to recognize his smile, and the corners of her mouth twitched up.

_You tell him, Sakura!_ He looked back at Sasuke, who was still gaping at Sakura. Well, gaping Uchiha-style; slightly widened eyes and a slightly paler than usual complexion were the only markers that gave him away.

"I'll.. write you a report," he managed after a moment. Sakura beamed at him and Sasuke did something Kakashi had never seen him do before; he hunched up his shoulders and _shuffled his feet_. It was just for a moment, barely more than a second before he caught himself and went back to being his usual, stoic, cool self, but it had been enough for Kakashi to catch him at it. Ha. Maybe there was hope for him yet.

Kakashi nodded. He didn't bother to hide his smile. "Good work, both of you. I trust you both to figure out a solution."

_Sometimes, saving the world isn't all being the reincarnation of some demi-God or whatever. Sometimes, it's all about the paperwork_, Kakashi thought. Umino Iruka would be proud of him.

xXx

Sai wanted to scream. He could feel his own body, but no matter how hard he tried it wouldn't respond to his commands. His right hand rested lightly on Utatane Koharu's shoulder. It would look like a reassuring gesture, but Sai could only see it as a threatening one.

_"Don't do this! What are you going to accomplish by doing this?" _He cried out and threw himself, or some mental manifestation of himself, at the dark walls that trapped him inside his own mind.

_"You know, I pity you,"_ the voice he had come to recognize as Fox's replied. "_You fight so hard to protect a woman who couldn't care less that Danzou stole your childhood, and would have stolen your future if he'd gotten the chance. She knows about ROOT, you know. She knows Danzou recruited kids. She knows the kind of things you had to do."_

The last words were accompanied by a flash of Shin's face, Sai's brother, pale and bloody-lipped, as he had been in his last moments. The image was thrown towards Sai, utterly involuntarily and completely unavoidable, as though some invisible force was rooting through his past and choosing moments from it to torment Sai with.

Sai felt a deep wave of despair. "_Stop it-"_

_"Stop what?"_ Fox replied, amused. He dug through Sai's memories and dragged out another one-

_Sai's blade slit through the young woman's skin like it was nothing. She couldn't be much older than sixteen, and her eyes were filled with terror as she slid to the ground, clutching at her throat. She gurgled and wheezed horribly as blood spilled from between her fingers, but there was no saving her-_

_"_Please,_ stop," _Sai begged_. "Please. No more memories."_

_"Why would I stop? What could you offer me that would make me stop?" _Fox asked curiously as he steered Sai's body through Konoha's streets. Next to him, Koharu remained utterly oblivious to her guard's inner struggle.

Sai buried his face in his hands. He wanted it to stop so badly, but.. he couldn't, could he? He would have to suffer. He would have to persevere. That was the only way to help his friends. "_Nothing. I won't offer you anything."_

_"No information means more memories. You know how it works. And oh, you have so _many_ amusing memories for me to work with!" _Fox trilled. "_But honestly, reality will be torture enough for you in a few moments," _His odd, near featureless manifestation in Sai's mind grinned widely.

Sai was pretty sure he knew what Fox meant by it.

"_After all, you and I have another elder to kill."_

Fox used Sai's face to smile pleasantly at Koharu as they entered her apartment. As she entered the door he stepped in behind her, drawing the hidden blade Sai kept in his waistband out.

* * *

**AN:**

**Life has been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster the last few weeks as I've been having some health issues and haven't been in the mood to write. Then, I had a writer's block and actually had to rewrite this chapter entirely because I disliked it so much. But I got there in the end! I planned to include some scenes of the Yamanaka clan as well, but I'm afraid you'll have to wait for the next chapter to get those. Apologies for the lack of action! But we are still moving- **_**slowly**_**.**

**Don't remember Yamanaka Fuu? Google him!**

**I did reference the ANBU filler arc, even though I felt it was.. ehh. Anyway, in case you didn't watch it: Tenzou and Kakashi meet when they are respectively 10 and 14 years old. Tenzou is part of ROOT, Kakashi just joined ANBU but Danzou manipulated him into believing it was Sandaime's fault Minato died and briefly joined ROOT as well. Fortunately he quickly changed his mind, after which Tenzou was ordered to kill him. Tenzou tried and failed a few times, and then ended up on the receiving end of Naruto's patented Therapy no Jutsu- except that it was by Kakashi- and ended up joining the Sandaime's side. A few torture sessions and vague filler characters later, and the two became friends and teammates.**


	14. Naruto's Folly

**Chapter 14. Naruto's Folly**

* * *

By the time noon rolled around, the whole village was buzzing with the news of Homura's death. All Kakashi could do was damage control; Yes, they were chasing the killer, no, none of the civilians needed to fear for their lives, and no, the chuunins of Konoha did not need to join the chase.

The real trouble began during a briefing where Konoha's more prominent jounin and clan leaders were present, when one of the Nara, a young cousin of Shikamaru's, suggested there was a connection between Kakashi's seemingly fragile condition and the number two that had been painted underneath Homura's body.

Kakashi, already exhausted and looking a lot paler than he usually did, tried his best to dissuade the rumors as best as he could, while once again cursing himself for his own idiocy. At least Naruto was courteous enough not to say 'I told you so', but Sakura's occasional looks were more recriminating.

Kakashi eventually managed to wrap the briefing up with the message that a special team had been assigned to the task of tracking down Homura's killer, and met up with Ino near the council room's entrance as everyone filed out.

Ino looked a bit nervous as she led him through the village to the Yamanaka clan district. Kakashi couldn't blame her; he was getting looks left and right, even though he made sure to look every bit as nonchalant as usual. Word had spread, and it was all his own fault.

The Yamanaka district was a colourful part of Konoha. Although not a large district, the streets were wide and left a lot of room and light between the houses. The Yamanaka flower shop was at its centre, still maintained by Ino's mother, and its influence was visible throughout the district. There were flowers in abundance, worn in people's hair, in window sills, even hanging from balconies in beautiful cascades.

Kakashi had never had Yamanaka teammates, so he wasn't familiar with the district, but Ino guided him effortlessly through the crowded streets. Only half the people walking through the crowded streets were Yamanaka, most of them recognizable by their pale eyes and blond hair. The other half were civilians and shinobi of all sorts, there to buy flowers or visit some of the other shops held by Yamanaka owners.

"Fuu's father lives in the apartment to the left," Ino said, pointing to a small, cheerful looking apartment block to their left. It had been painted yellow at some point, and many of the windows were decorated with flowers.

Kakashi nodded, and followed Ino as she went up to the first floor and knocked on one of the doors.

The door opened after a moment, revealing a middle-aged Yamanaka with the clan's distinctive long, blond hair. "Ino-sama? Ah- Hokage-sama, as well! It is an honour," The man bowed.

Kakashi and Ino simultaneously took a step back, united in their embarrassment.

"Ahh, there's no need for that, Shou-san," Ino said, smiling brightly. "I'm glad you were able to meet with us today."

"Of course, of course!" Yamanaka Shou said. "You are more than welcome."

"Are you aware of what we have come to discuss with you?" Kakashi said as they entered the home. Shou stilled at the question. "My boy. You're here to ask about my boy." After a moment he smiled. "How about some tea first?"

Kakashi nodded and Shou set about making tea for his guests. Kakashi and Ino took a seat on the couch, and got a good chance to look around. The apartment was tiny, but the decoration was cozy and neat. There was a picture on the wall of a ginger-haired woman holding a small, ginger boy. Fuu, probably.

Cozy as the apartment was, it was also painfully empty. How had a kindly man like this let his son go into ROOT? How had Fuu's mother, who smiled so gently in the picture?

Shou returned to the room and set a tray on the small lounge table. He was no longer smiling as he poured tea into their cups. "Fuu was a good boy, you know," He said decidedly, "No matter what they say."

Ino reached out and gently took his hand. "No one doubts it, Shou-san. But are you aware what his job was?"

"He was in ANBU, wasn't he?" Shou said. His chest swelled proudly. "Part of the elite, the Hokage's very own guard."

"Not..quite." Ino said, glancing over at Kakashi.

Shou frowned at them. "What do you mean?"

"Your son was part of ANBU ROOT, an organization that served under Shimura Danzo rather than the Hokage," Kakashi said curtly. "He was on a mission for ANBU ROOT when he.. passed away."

"When he was murdered," Shou shook his head sadly. "I was a shinobi, you know. I retired early- bad knee," He tapped his right leg with one hand, "but I remember the lifestyle. He was murdered, in battle, by that Akatsuki man."

"Did you ever meet your son's teammates, Shou-san?" Kakashi asked, trying to change the subject.

Shou frowned a little. "Once- quite by accident. I don't think I was supposed to see them. Fuu didn't live at home anymore, you see. His mother was very sad about that- but he hadn't lived with us for a long time, not since he was a boy. Danzou-sama told us he was serving a just cause, that we should be proud of him- but he never told us about this ROOT."

Shou's fists clenched. "He lied to us. That Danzo- I respected him, and yet he lied to us! I should have listened to your father," He nodded at Ino.

"Do you remember anything about your son's teammates?" Kakashi said patiently.

Shou turned his attention back to Kakashi. "Not really. They all wore those masks. There was a woman, I remember that, and two men. All with those tattoos on their shoulders."

"Do you remember the colours or shapes of their masks?" Ino asked helpfully.

Shou shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not." He took a long drag of his tea.

Kakashi drank some of his own tea, taking the time to think his next question over. "Shou-san, I'm sorry to have to ask you this- but do you think there is any chance of your son still being alive?"

Kakashi watched Shou's face intently and saw tears well up in the older man's eyes.

"I don't understand why you are asking me this, Hokage-sama. No, I don't think so. I wish I could say there was. He was our only child." Shou hung his head in a moment of profound sadness. "My boy is gone."

Kakashi felt intensely sorry for the man, but doubt nagged at him. If no one had seen the body.. Could it be Obito hadn't killed Fuu, after all? That Fuu was in fact Fox..?

He rubbed the back of his neck. More speculation.

Kakashi and Ino stayed to finish up their tea. After that, they left Shou, both of them feeling shaken by the depth of the man's feelings. Ino stayed in the Yamanaka district and Kakashi made his way back to the Hokage Tower, trailed by one or two of his bodyguards.

Back home he slumped down onto his uncomfortable couch, where he came to the realization that he probably wouldn't be able to get back up. He shrugged, too exhausted to really care, and closed his eyes.

xXx

Soft, warm fingers took Kakashi's wrist and lifted it gently. Kakashi regained consciousness instantly and heaved himself up, one hand already reaching out towards the threat.

Familiar strong chakra met his own and he froze mid-lunge. "Tsunade-sama?" Kakashi panted.

Tsunade eyed him suspiciously. Her own hands were raised defensively to stop Kakashi's half-conscious attack. "You're still with us, then?" She said.

"Ah- sorry." Kakashi forced himself to relax and took his surroundings in. He was still in his living room on the couch.

"You didn't think you could just sneak off like that, did you?" There was a peculiar note in Tsunade's voice. Kakashi tried to figure out what it was, but his mind felt foggy and slow.

"Wha-?" He said, eloquently.

Tsunade gave him a sharp look. "Do you understand me?"

Kakashi's confusion only grew. "Yeah. Why..?"

"Ox found you in your room, unconscious. Fortunately he figured out it wasn't just an innocent little nap and got help." Tsunade said. "Now, how is your vision?"

Kakashi frowned. "It was a nap," He said. HIs voice slurred a little. "Just a nap. I can see fine."

"It wasn't." Tsunade pulled one of his eyelids down and aimed a penlight into his pupils. "Pupil reaction normal. It seems I got to you in time."

"What? Tsunade-sama-" Kakashi tried to get up, but Tsunade pushed him back firmly.

"The seal was eroded. I've replaced it for now, but there's no telling how long the new one will work." Tsunade pointed at his chest, and Kakashi was surprised to see someone had opened his jacket and nearly torn his shirt in half. An intricate seal pulsed softly on his chest.

"Oh." He managed. "What happened?"

"You got damn lucky, that's what happened. The poison started to bleed through. Fortunately Sakura, being the clever girl she is, adjusted the seal in such a way that it would work with your chakra. The moment it started to dissolve, it pulled your chakra in to contain what poison it could. Ox sensed the change in your chakra, which was what alerted him in the first place."

Kakashi blinked at her. He knew that look. "But?"

"There was some internal bleeding. I've stopped most of it, but if this happens again, the damage might be irreversible." Tsunade leveled him with a serious look. "You might not have much time if we don't find a better solution. Now sit back- I need to check your blood pressure."

Kakashi sat back and let her do her work. Tsunade did a number of other tests, occasionally murmuring to herself about heart rate and blood pressure.

When she finished, she nudged his leg until he made room for her and sat down on the edge of the couch with a sigh. "You know, I really don't want to come out of retirement prematurely. You're young- you're supposed to be Hokage for years to come."

"There's always Naruto," Kakashi said chipper.

Tsunade slapped his leg sharply. "He's too young and also, if you give up here and now you'll only have been Hokage for a year. It's pathetic!"

Kakashi cringed. "I _was_ hoping for a slightly more impressive record than 'kicked the bucket 13 months in', but then Minato-sensei didn't get a say in it either."

"Minato died protecting this entire village. You're in this situation because of some idiot with a vague grudge. It's not the same." Tsunade argued with eyes like flints. "I need you to survive this. We're finally at peace, you can't die on me now."

That seemed a bit out of character. Kakashi frowned. "Tsunade-sama.. You and I know better than anyone that we don't get a say in these sorts of-"

Tsunade made a frustrated sound. "I know that, you idiot. I was just hoping things would be better this time around."

"Well.. I'm still alive." Kakashi said. He weakly kicked his legs to demonstrate. "Yay! See?"

Tsunade snorted, but Kakashi could see one corner of her mouth curl up.

"Besides," Kakashi said, hoping to make her smile again,"If I don't survive at least I'll be protecting the village from incompetent leadership."

It had been meant as a joke, but Tsunade's smile disappeared. She looked at him for a long moment. "Don't. I won't have you talking like your father." She said, and looked away so he could only see her profile.

"I didn't mean-" Kakashi began, feeling incredibly uncomfortable. Did she think..?

"I know."

"I don't _want_ to die, I really don't-"

"I _know_, Kakashi."

"Were the two of you friends?" Kakashi asked carefully.

Tsunade nodded curtly. "I was closer with your mother, but yes. In a way. But I didn't see him much in his final months."

It seemed that she didn't want to say anything else about it, because she slapped her hands on her thighs and got up in one sharp movement. "But the fact is that when you doubt your own leadership, you also doubt my choice of successor. Do you doubt my ability to assess someone's character and ability?"

She was eyeing him sternly enough that he couldn't help but think of the village's strict librarian, who always gave him such a judgmental look when he came to check out his books- anyway. Not the time to think of porn.

HIs mind was still on her last comment. She hadn't seen his father often in his final months. Did that mean she'd been one of the people who'd bought into the whole 'Sakumo-is-a-traitor' thing? Or had they just drifted apart as Sakumo's depression worsened? He wanted to ask her badly, but before he could, the door slammed open.

"Hokage-sama!" A pale-faced Aoba rushed into the room, sweating profusely. "It's Utatane-sama! She's- You have to come quickly!"

Aoba stopped and stared at them for a moment. Kakashi quickly forced himself into an upright position. "What happened?" He asked, and tried to make his voice sound as authoritative and strong as he could.

Aoba got over whatever surprise he felt and nodded. "Someone- someone has killed Utatane-sama- and hung her body from the Hokage Mountain!"

The air seemed to freeze in Kakashi's lungs. Utatane Koharu, who had left his office barely an hour ago, was.. dead?

He exchanged a look with Tsunade, who looked absolutely stunned.

It would seem that Fox had outwitted them once again.

xXx

Naruto couldn't believe it. He hadn't _really_ planned on just sitting back and letting other people do all the work, no matter what Kakashi-sensei said, but he hadn't exactly expected this, either.

His idea had been simple; get Sakura-chan and Sasuke-teme and figure out a plan between the three of them. Looking at little glass slides with itty bitty bits of poison on them was all well and good, but it wouldn't _catch Fox, _would it?

Sakura had sighed a little when he'd said so, and Sasuke had rolled his eyes, but Naruto had persevered and dragged them to a nice little place he just so happened to know- Sasuke had rolled his eyes even harder when they'd ended up at Ichiraku's, but Naruto had ignored that as well.

They'd been there for barely more than an hour of fruitless bickering when someone outside had screamed, and before they even knew it Team 7 was standing in the middle of the street, trying to find the source of the shout. It wasn't very hard; a young civilian woman was pointing at the Hokage Mountain, her free hand covering her mouth and her eyes wide with shock.

It wasn't long before others in the crowd began to scream as well.

There was a body hanging from the mountain- and a dark figure was lowering it so it would hang right in front of Namikaze Minato's face. A number three was painted underneath it in blood red.

Something inside Naruto _burned._

"_Kurama!"_

"On it, kid."

Golden chakra flared up around him, covering him from head to toe as power rushed through his system. He wrapped the power around himself and tore through the fabric of the world, reappearing briefly halfway through the village, before making it to the Hokage mountain. The utter exhilaration of being able to move like that never quite went away, but right now the anger was stronger.

No one, _no one_, got to go around and kill old people from his village. And no one was going to go after Naruto's mentor and get away with it.

The cloaked figure backed away as he saw Naruto, but he wasn't fast enough. Naruto was on him in a flash, pulling off the cloak and mask and- _oh._

A familiar pale face stared back at him from the hood's folds.

"_Sai?_ What the hell are you doing here?" Naruto cried out. Sai struggled against Naruto's firm grip, but Naruto wouldn't let him go. "What the hell, Sai? Why would you do such a thing?"

Sai wouldn't respond. Why wouldn't he _say_ anything? And why the hell would he betray-

No, wait. Sai wouldn't, would he?

Sasuke appeared at his side in a flash. "We should kill him." He said. "Solve this problem once and for all."

"_No_." Naruto said firmly, without meeting Sasuke's surprised look. "He's Sai. He's our friend. He wouldn't do this."

"Naruto!" Sakura was running up the base of Hokage Mountain. She ascended quickly, but almost lost her footing completely when she saw Sai. "What-"

"He must be under Fox's control. He _must_ be." Naruto said, shaking Sai lightly. "Sai wouldn't do this."

Sasuke's nostrils flared. "He's _ROOT._ He's one of _Danzou's_ men. He _would_ do this."

"You don't understand," Sakura said, shaking her head. "Naruto is right, Sai is different, you don't know him like we do-"

"You're letting your sentimentality get in the way of the truth," Sasuke hissed.

"No." Naruto said, again. "We're not. Sai is our friend. We can trust him. Don't you trust our judgment? Don't you trust us?"

Blue eyes met black, and for a tense moment the two stared at each other.

Then Sasuke looked away. " I don't trust him."

Naruto frowned. "What does that mean?"

"It means you often let your feelings cloud your judgment-"

"Was I wrong about you?" Naruto countered. There. That one hit the mark.

Sasuke's shoulders tensed. For a moment, the only sound was that of the wind blowing past the mountain, pulling on their clothes and hair.

Sakura was the first to break it. "Look- regardless of whether Sai is guilty-"

"He's not," Naruto said confidently.

Sakura ignored him. "We can't just kill him. If we do that and Sai is.._is_ guilty-" She shot a look at Naruto when he opened his mouth to interject, "then we need him alive to cancel out the poison."

That made an awful lot of sense. Even Sasuke couldn't counter that, right?

The way Sasuke looked away and refused to meet their eyes told Naruto that he couldn't.

Naruto nodded. "That's settled, then." With a little bit of focus, he formed a hand out of his chakra and wrapped it tightly around Sai. His grip with his right prosthetic arm wasn't as strong as it used to be, and he didn't want to risk Sai getting away. Not that he couldn't catch him again, but then he might have to hurt Sai, and he really didn't want that.

Kurama went quiet in his mind, which told Naruto that he was thinking about something. _What is it?_ he asked.

Kurama frowned a little. _Remember, kid.. People can do unexpected things. Don't dismiss Sasuke out of hand._

Naruto blocked him out. Not Kurama too. He looked intently at Sai and focused on sensing his chakra. It was moving much slower than it should, and felt malicious. Naruto's frown deepened.

"Whoever you are," He hissed, "_get out of my friend._"

Sai's eyes widened, and just like that his chakra changed. It didn't feel quite the way it usually would, but Naruto supposed that was to be expected after being possessed. It began to move quicker through Sai's body, though, and the malicious undertone changed into a panicked one.

"Wha- what's going on?" Sai blinked rapidly. His breath was coming in shallow gasps. "I didn't want to- I didn't mean-"

Naruto dropped his chakra cloak with a sigh of relief. Now that Sai was back, there was no need to hold him anymore. " It's okay Sai, we'll explain everything. For now, you're safe." He grinned widely.

Sakura smiled weakly at him and Sai. "Looks like we were right," She said softly. She didn't meet Sasuke's eye. "We need to get you to Kakashi-sensei and figure out what to do next."

Sasuke sniffed.

Sai looked intensely relieved.

The four of them slowly made their way down the Hokage mountain. Naruto couldn't help but think that had been a close call. Too close, maybe. If this Fox guy could even possess the likes of Sai.. Naruto shuddered. What if he tried it on someone from Team 7? Or even on Kakashi-sensei? What kind of things could he make people do-

He didn't think about how long Sai had been under Fox's control. Nor did he notice Sai's little smile when his back was briefly turned. A relieved smile, yes- but for different reasons than Naruto could imagine.

The real Sai, the one who had been allowed to drift towards the surface of his mind just for a moment, just long enough for Naruto to drop his guard and Fox to push him back down ruthlesslyE, couldn't help but wish Sasuke had killed him instead.

xXx

The clone paused. Something was up with his original body. He'd felt the spike in chakra a few minutes ago. It had been hard to miss, as it had been accompanied by the sickening lurch that usually meant he was about to be dispelled. He'd tried his hardest to hang on to reality and ground himself, but he was pretty sure he'd have disappeared into the void if nothing had changed.

Being a clone was weird. He could still sort of _feel_ his real body. Not in the way you usually would, but more like an imprint left on his mind. An imprint that was very much meant to be _complete_ and in _one piece_, thank you very much. Not.. doing whatever Kakashi's real body had been doing today.

But then foreign chakra had invaded the original's body. The clone had panicked briefly, but then he'd recognized it as Tsunade's. The universe's pull on his fragile chakra body had lessened immediately, and by now the clone was pretty sure he wouldn't just disperse any moment now.

Good. He still had a lot to do, after all. He sighed deeply and made sure his wig was still in place. It felt a bit silly to dress up when he was a clone, but it didn't hurt to go the extra distance. Whoever Fox was, he _had _to be related to ANBU. Maybe Sai hadn't looked hard enough, or missed something. Either way, it was worth checking out. Kakashi had had a hunch, and he'd learned the hard way to never ignore his gut feeling. And then there had been the mask of that Obito look-alike who had attacked him.

The clone slipped into the ANBU headquarters unnoticed. It was amazing what a good wig, a bit of make-up and his old ANBU uniform could do for a man whose face was utterly unknown to his fellow villagers. A few subtle changes to his appearances and the lack of a mask were enough to make himself completely anonymous.

As for the ANBU members who raised their heads curiously as he passed by, alerted by vaguely familiar chakra combined with an unfamiliar face, the ANBU tattoo on his right shoulder was enough to convince them he presented no threat.

Kakashi knew ANBU inside out, and everything he knew, his clone knew as well. He purposefully strode through the ANBU quarters until he reached the shower rooms, where he knew the old rusty pipe system to be. If ROOT, or whatever was left of it, was unchanged.. This was where he had to be.

He couldn't catch Sai's scent anymore. Too many people had showered since Sai had been here, but Kakashi was sure Sai had used the same method.

Well, no matter. He wasn't here to meet up with old ROOT pals. He was here to enter ROOT headquarters and see what he could find. He moved on and settled in one of the few private showers. It was cramped and smelled of mold, but it would do.

The clone had to wait for several hours before the last stragglers left for their sleeping quarters. In that time he had started to refer to himself as 'Sukea', because it was a hell of a lot easier to think of himself as 'Sukea' than 'other-me' or 'clone-me' and 'original-me'.

Sukea felt uneasy about straining the original Kakashi's chakra while he was in his condition, but he knew Kakashi would be able to last for a few hours more at the least. Maybe he could even stretch it to a day, if Kakashi didn't worsen. Sukea had a hunch it would be worth it.

When he felt the last of the chakra signatures leave the building, Sukea snuck out of the bathroom stall. Most of the entrances ROOT's headquarters had been destroyed in Pain's attack, but as the old ANBU headquarters had survived the onslaught, so had the doorway to ROOT that it still hid in its bowels. Sukea remembered it from his own days as ROOT agent. It had been one of the main entrances at the time, although it had later been closed up and replaced with a more suitably covert one.

Sukea walked into one of the oldest rooms of the building, situated next to the showers. The smell of old urine and mold met him first. As his nose wrinkled, he made a mental note to get Tenzou to replace the old toilets. No amount of toilet cleaner would be enough to stop this stench. Wait, hadn't Tenzou been hounding him about this for the past few months? Or had that been about some kind of broken sink that kept flooding- Sukea scratched his head and decided to let the real Kakashi deal with. Clones weren't made for thinking. They were made to follow orders and transfer memories.

Sukea reached the last toilet. It was the only one that didn't smell as bad, if only for the reason that it hadn't been used in years- the official story was that it was defect. The real story was that it hid a secret doorway, one that could be activated by pressing the seal hidden in the toilet's tank.

Sukea grimaced as he lifted the tank's top off. Fortunately the tank was empty, aside from a few surprised looking rodents- rodents, _really?_ They'd really let this place go- and an old but active seal. Sukea could feel its low-level energy when he touched it, and a brief surge of chakra was enough to activate it.

Fortunately, he'd done this often enough as a kid that he wasn't surprised when the floor fell away underneath his feet. He landed neatly on the balls of feet and kept low to the ground. Sending chakra to his eyes, nose and ears, he sharpened his senses to try and see if anyone else was around. There was nothing, though- nothing but a cavernous, gloomy room, filled with the thick smell of dust and mold.

It wasn't immediately clear to Sukea where the light was coming from. It was a faint, orange glow that gave the room an eerie feeling. It reminded him of what little he had heard of Orochimaru's quarters.

Sukea squared his shoulders. No matter what would happen, he was only a clone. If whoever was down here killed him, his knowledge would go straight to Kakashi. But there was an alternative option. He hadn't dressed up for fun and giggles, after all. It was just a bit of a stretch.

Okay, a huge stretch. But Sukea had a hunch that it might just give him the upper hand, if he played his cards right. He breathed in deeply and channeled chakra into his nostrils. Sai was a good shinobi, but he didn't have Kakashi's senses.

The clone set out into the darkness. He had a fox to snare.

* * *

**Author's Note:  
Did I ever mention I love Naruto's powers? Because I love Naruto's powers. However, they're also a game changer 8') When a single character can sense emotion and intent just from someone's chakra as well as instantly beat them in a fight, you **_**really**_** need to get creative with your villains. Fortunately, Naruto can't sense those things when he's not using sage mode. Phew! Loophole!**

**I'll give you one hint about Fox's techniques: he basically has two different ones, one where he controls, and one where he possesses. We've seen both but they're fundamentally different. Of course, they also take different tolls on Fox!**

**I also love Tsunade. Do you think I got her right in this chapter, or does she seem too sentimental? Please let me know!**

**What did you guys think of Shou? I hope you didn't mind the inclusion of an OC!**

**In other news, Kishimoto gave an interview where he indirectly said Kakashi was Hokage for thirteen years- wow! Nicely done, Kakashi!**


	15. Trusted Advisor, Trusted Friend

**Chapter 15. Trusted Advisor, Trusted Friend**

* * *

Kakashi was already halfway out of the window before Tsunade grabbed him by the arm and reeled him back in with ease. She eyed him sternly. "You almost died half an hour ago. Stairs. Now."

Kakashi eyed the ground below him. His legs felt like jelly, and now that he took a moment to think about it he decided defenestrating himself would probably be a surefire way to, well, splatter the streets with bits of Hokage, so he didn't protest and followed Tsunade back inside and up the stairs. Meanwhile, he summoned an ANBU agent with a flick of his wrist.

"Yes, sir?"

"You and your team, investigate the body. Do it as quickly as possible- I don't want her up there any longer than we have to keep her. Go." He ordered.

As they passed through the mission room, Tsunade pointed to a number of chunin, who had all gotten up with startled looks on their faces. "You, you, and you- follow Aoba, make sure no one gets close to the body. Iruka, Kotetsu, Izumo, you're in charge of crowd control."

Together they strode through the ensuing chaos. Chunin and ANBU moved quickly around them but never blocked their path. Instead, they instinctively left a pathway for the two Hokage's to follow.

When Tsunade and he reached the top of the tower, Kakashi went still.

Utatane Koharu, dead. As much of a shock as her partner's death had been, Koharu's death was all the more so. She had seemed like a permanent fixture in Konoha, unmoving and unchanged by time, never mind the wrinkles in her face. Even when he had been a boy, she had seemed ancient and forever. Kakashi felt cold.

Now she hung from the Hokage Mountain, her blood drawing red lines down Minato-sensei's stone face. Whoever had gotten her up there hadn't had the chance to hang her from her ankles yet, but it was an ugly sight nonetheless.

Kakashi glanced over at Tsunade. Her expression was tight, her eyes cold, making her resemble her stern statue. She felt his eyes on her and glanced up long enough for him to catch the anger in her eyes.

"One way or another, we'll find him," she hissed. "I didn't like the old hag, but she was Sarutobi-sensei's friend. We can't let this go."

Kakashi's own anger grew to match hers. He cut his thumb on one of his kunai and slammed his hand on the floor. He had to focus all of his attention into pouring out just enough chakra as his anger almost made him overload the technique. "Kuchiyose no jutsu!".

Guruko, Bisuke and Uhei appeared seconds later, dark eyes looking up at him obediently. Kakashi's anger only grew; he'd meant to summon all eight. Instead, he didn't even get Pakkun. Sloppy. He clenched his jaw and pointed at Koharu's body. The dogs looked uneasily from Kakashi to Koharu, obviously confused.

"Go to her. Figure out who came near her in the past few hours, and find them," he ordered.

"Boss, what's going on? Pakkun said-"

"_Now_, Bisuke," Kakashi cut the dog off. Bisuke dropped his head, shared a look with his pack mates, and leapt away. Kakashi watched them go and tried to control his breathing. If he didn't calm down, he wasn't sure he'd be able to keep his chakra calm enough to keep the clone intact.

One of the ANBU standing near Koharu's body leapt down and bowed briefly before the Hokages. "Hokage-sama. Koharu-sama is dead. There's nothing we can do for her. Naruto-sama, Sakura-san and Sasuke-san have captured the culprit."

Kakashi frowned and looked past the agent to where his dogs were inspecting Koharu's body, their tails wagging slowly. Some good news at last. "Where are they now?"

The agent pointed at the top of the cliff, where a few dark figures made their way down. They moved awkwardly, and after a moment Kakashi could see it was because Sakura and Naruto held someone in between them. They were _supporting_ someone, not holding them.

"What..?" Tsunade began, squinting against the bright sun.

One of the figures broke away and rushed down, quickly revealing himself to be Sasuke. He landed on the rooftop in front of Kakashi, where he promptly ignored Tsunade and the ANBU agent.

"It's _Sai_. He was.. possessed. Or so Naruto says." Sasuke said reluctantly, "I'm not convinced."

Kakashi's heart stuttered. "_Sai?!_ But- Sai- Possessed, you say? The same technique?"

"Perhaps." Sasuke said, looking back at the cliff with a deep frown. His left eye had turned back into the Rinnegan, making his expression all the more unreadable.

"What are you thinking?" Kakashi asked.

"Just that Naruto and Sakura might be too quick to trust someone who was part of ROOT," Sasuke said quietly.

Kakashi held Sasuke's gaze for a moment. As much as he wanted Sasuke to be wrong- as much as he _thought_ Sasuke was wrong- perhaps he shouldn't completely discount it either. He closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, he looked at the ANBU agent. After a bit of digging, he remembered the man's code name. "Bear, I order you to take former ANBU agent Sai into custody. Treat him with the respect he deserves."

ANBU Bear bowed. "Yes, Hokage-sama." He turned away, and with a few hand signals, his team converged on Sai, Naruto and Sakura.

"Naruto won't like it." Tsunade said quietly.

"Neither do I." Kakashi growled.

Sasuke closed his eyes briefly in that solemn way of his, then jumped off the roof to join his teammates again.

Kakashi watched as the ANBU made their intentions clear to his students. He wasn't surprised to feel Naruto's chakra flare angrily, or to see the small figure who had to be Naruto move in front of the crouched silhouette of Sai. Sasuke made his way to Naruto's side, and after a moment Naruto's figure slumped. The ANBU heaved Sai up, and quickly disappeared with him.

Kakashi sighed. _Sai._ Could it really be? Sai, who'd stayed outside his room all night when he had first been poisoned. Sai, who had impersonated him in order to distract the Daimyo. Kakashi's fists clenched. This was Genma all over again.

And there was more to consider, too. Koharu's body should have been hung from the Fourth's face. Which meant..

"Tsunade-sama, I think we need to consider that you are also a target." Kakashi sai.

Tsunade blinked, but seemed unsurprised. "The stone faces. You're thinking the same thing?"

"That he intends to hang our dead bodies from our own faces?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

Tsunade snorted. "He has a funny sense of humor."

"Bit morbid, if you ask me." Kakashi scratched the back of his head. "Either way, you've already got your own ANBU squad tailing you. You know best what to tell them."

Tsunade gave him a slight grin. "Still feels awkward to give me orders, does it?"

Kakashi blinked at the lightness of her tone. He let out a breath and made a conscious effort to relax his hands and shoulders. She'd nailed it. He tried to go for a nonchalant shrug. "Well, you _are_ my predecessor. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you stepping down."

_Sure, one of the other Sannin taught me how to drink and shared my love for horrible literature, but __ordering around a living legend twice my age feels a bit surreal,_ Kakashi thought.

He didn't say any of that out loud, knowing that any attempt at self-deprecation would be shot down instantly by the fiery woman next to him. She didn't doubt her choice of successor; he felt the strong need to prove her right.

If Tsunade noticed, she didn't say anything. "Don't worry. I'll make sure I'm not alone. Shizune is already following me around like a shadow- it's almost like she's known I'd be in trouble from the start. And besides, if Fox does come after me, I'll smash his skull in," she added, raising her fist.

Kakashi smiled at her sideways. "I'd like to see that."

Tsunade let out a deep sigh. "That Koharu.. I didn't like the woman one bit, but this.. no one deserves this."

Kakashi watched as his agents slowly let down Koharu's body, and hummed in agreement. "A state funeral, I think. For their long years of service."

Tsunade looked thoughtful, but nodded. "A good signal to give those who believed in Koharu and Homura's ideals, like Hyuuga Hiashi. Although- Sasuke will hate it."

"He hates everything," Kakashi snorted, "and understands little of politics or other people."

Tsunade chuckled dryly. "A fair assessment. Speaking of someone with an astounding lack of people knowledge, the Daimyo will have to be informed as well. He is-_was _ more familiar with Koharu and Homura than he is with most other shinobi."

Kakashi sighed. "Yeah. It'll be hard to explain all of this to him. Gotta figure out how we're going to break the news that his wife is a shinobi."

"He'll have her in chains the moment he finds out." Tsunade said softly.

"Maybe. He seems genuinely fond of her, and, surprisingly, she of him. I'm starting to think she'll only be a true threat to him if Fox has her under his control." Kakashi crossed his arms over his chest and turned away from the grizzly scene to observe the village instead. "But we will have to deal with Miho somehow. Until we know what her intentions really are, she's a risk."

He sighed and put his hands in his pockets. Below him, he could see his villagers milling about restlessly. The occasional shocked or scared cry still broke the silence, but most villagers had returned to their everyday lives at the chunins' request.

On the cliff, his dogs were still sniffing around. Kakashi wasn't sure whether they could smell him or if they could sense him as well as he could sense them through their summoning contract, but they seemed to notice he was looking at them. Uhei broke away from the pack. As one of the fastest members of the pack, it didn't take him long to reach the rooftop.

"Boss. We didn't find anythin' interesting. She smelled pretty normal, of normal human things like food and sleep. We caught a whiff of that Sai guy you hang out with, and a couple of other ANBU guys, but that's about it." The dog reported, pressing his snout against Kakashi's leg.

Kakashi brushed a hand over the dog's reddish brown fur and thought for a moment. "Those other ANBU- anyone we know?"

"Uzuki girl, and Ox-chan. Couple of smells I don't know very well, but Bisuke said he remembered them from ANBU." Uhei's tongue rolled from his mouth as he pushed his head further against Kakashi's hand.

Kakashi absently scratched the dog behind his ear for a moment. "Tell Bisuke to meet me when he can. I want to know everyone who came near him. After that, find .. 'Uzuki girl', and tell her to come see me as well."

"Okay, boss!" Uhei yipped. He leapt away and went to meet his pack mates.

Kakashi watched him go, then turned back to Tsunade. "I'm going to see Sai and figure out what happened there. I should probably call for Ino again as well- if anyone understands mind control, it's her."

Tsunade's expression turned from thoughtful to frowning to downright cunning. "Actually, I haven't finished examining you yet, Hatake."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes a little and tried not to shy away from her. "Are you sure we weren't done yet? I feel alright."

The unimpressed look on Tsunade's face told him there would be no escaping this time.

* * *

It took Kakashi almost half an hour to escape from Tsunade's clutches again. By that time, Bisuke had joined him. The dog had keened uncomfortably as Kakashi was subjected to Tsunade's check-up, and when she'd finished he'd carefully come up to his master to sniff at his leg.

Kakashi placed a hand on the dog's warm head, and breathed in the familiar smell of fur. It made him feel just a little bit better about the brand new seal overlaid on the first one glowing on top of his chest. One of his agents had brought him a new shirt, which he gratefully slipped over the old one. It would be a bit nippy to go through the village with a glowing hole on his chest, after all.

"Take it easy though, Hatake," Tsunade said, still frowning a little. "This sealing method of Sakura is a miracle, but it's not a permanent solution. It affects your chakra flow and control and is unpredictable in general. The moment you feel off, _tell someone_."

Kakashi nodded reluctantly, before finally leaving his office again. With Bisuke closely at his side (close enough that he almost tripped over the silly dog a few times, after which he sternly told him not to be ridiculous and give him _some_ breathing space), he made his way over to the T&amp;I department.

Back when he had been a kid, the T&amp;I Department had been very similar to the ANBU headquarters; old, gloomy, and, well, _atmospheric_\- if you counted 'imminent torture and cobwebs' as _atmosphere_, anyway. The new building was only three years old and much lighter than the old one. It had also seen far less torture, and more understanding looks and Yamanaka mind jutsu, courtesy of Yamanaka Ino.

Ino hadn't taken over fully- after Inoichi's death, Ibiki had taken over control of the T&amp;I department- but everyone knew it was only a matter of time. With her keen mind and increasingly masterful Yamanaka techniques, she was a shoe-in.

When Kakashi arrived she was already waiting for him, dressed in the official grey slacks and her long hair tied back. "Please follow me, Hokage-sama," She said, and led him through the building down the stairs to Konoha's prison, several floors underneath the village.

Down there, Kakashi felt he could see more of the old T&amp;I department- badly lit rooms, small cells and angry-looking guards- but he was pretty sure the prisoners hadn't had such clean pillows or blankets on their cots before. Then again, they hadn't had such advanced chakra seals on the bars either, courtesy of one Uzumaki Karin.

Karin was there as well, tapping her foot impatiently as they reached her. "Finally. Took you a while, didn't it?"

At his side, Ino cringed at Karin's lack of respect, but Kakashi only smiled. "Please, lead the way."

Karin snorted and turned to a corridor on their left. She walked fast, with stiff shoulders and a frown. "Sasuke and the others refused to leave the prisoner, but I got them to back off a little and give us some room. Ibiki-san is there as well, but he couldn't get anything other than apologies and pleas out of the prisoner."

Ino seemed a bit pale. "The prisoner has a _name_," she said, quietly but sharply. "I'd like it if you _used_ it, Guard Uzumaki."

Karin gave her an odd look. "Geez, what crawled up your ass? Sure, princess- Prisoner _Sai _hasn't told us anything of interest yet."

Kakashi sighed. Kids these days. Couldn't go anywhere without finding something to argue about. "Mahh, please just keep walking, Karin-san. We're in a bit of a hurry."

Karin muttered something under her breath that he didn't bother to try and understand. She pointed to their left. "It's right through there."

Indeed, a few moments later Kakashi could already hear angry voices ahead. Naruto, from the sound of it, arguing with- oh, this was _gold- _an irate sounding Ibiki.

A few months ago, Kakashi would have paid actual money to see this argument go down. Terrifying, intimidating Ibiki versus golden-hearted, stubborn-as-a-mule Naruto, who certainly wouldn't let Ibiki pull any of his usual tricks.

But at the moment, it was good incentive to walk a little bit faster and hopefully avoid murder.

Ibiki and Naruto were already face to face when Kakashi entered the room, and looked at him with surprised and slightly guilty expressions. Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me- one of you thinks Sai should be released right away, the other thinks he should be imprisoned for life?"

"Ah, well- Hokage-sama, you must understand-"

"It's not fair, Kakashi-sensei! It's just like it was with Genma, it wasn't his fa-"

Kakashi cleared his throat loudly. "Ino, if you would do the honors?"

Ibiki and Naruto fell silent and stared at him, clearly not used to being ignored. Just behind Naruto, Sakura tried to hide a smile. Kakashi was surprised to see Sasuke was there as well, although he didn't seem to be doing much other than sending Sai the occasional evil eye.

Ino gave Karin a nod. The Uzumaki sighed and turned her back on them to look at the seals. Kakashi quietly watched as she weaved her chakra into the seals on the prison bars for long enough to let Ino through.

It felt strange to have a red-haired Uzumaki in the village again, particularly one who was both so similar and yet so different from Kushina-nee. It had been Sasuke's idea to hire Karin as a prison guard. Apparently she'd had a similar function with Orochimaru, and now that she was no longer his lackey and rather more interested in serving Konoha, it had seemed like a good idea. Or, well, it had seemed like a good idea after several intense screenings and a number of determined assurances that yes, she would be on her best behavior, and yes, they could trust her around their prisoners.

Kakashi hadn't regretted it yet.

Once Ino was inside the cell, Karin's seals slid neatly back into place, slithering over the bars like Sai's ink snakes. Kakashi repressed a shiver, and watched as Ino carefully moved towards Sai.

Sai was crouched in the back of the cell, knees drawn up and his face buried in his arms. The pose seemed so unlike Sai that Kakashi immediately felt on guard- fortunately, Karin's seals would make it impossible for him to do any real damage to Ino, but as a former ANBU, he would be able to do damage without chakra as well.

If Ino shared his concerns, she hid it remarkably well. "Sai, we'd like to ask you a few questions." She crouched down next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Would you look at me?"

Sai finally did, revealing slightly reddened eyes and a tired expression. "Ino-san. Hello. I have already told Ibiki-san all I know-"

Ino gave him a sympathetic smile. "You told him you were possessed. Can you tell me what you remember?"

Sakura joined Kakashi at the bars of the cell, her eyes glued on her best friend's back and shining with admiration. This was probably the first time she'd seen her friend at work.

In the cell, Sai buried his face again. "Not enough. I.. I failed. I thought, if it were to happen, I would remember more. That I'd be able to _use_ it against Fox. But I couldn't. He was too powerful."

"How did he do it? Do you remember that?" Ino asked gently.

"I- it was- no. One moment I was in my room, the next, I.. I blacked out. I woke up to find myself holding Koharu-sama's body," Sai muttered.

In his room? Kakashi made a quick timeline of Sai's movement of the past few days. He'd gone to ROOT HQ, after which he'd reported to Kakashi. Kakashi had ordered him to look after Koharu, which he was supposed to do until Ox came. Not an awful lot of time to actually go to his room. In fact, where was Ox in all of this? Wasn't he supposed to take over Sai's shift? Why hadn't he reported- oh.

Kakashi blinked. Perhaps he had been trusting the wrong ANBU, after all. At his side, Bisuke seemed to notice his discomfort. "Boss?"

"In a moment," Kakashi muttered back. He threw out his chakra senses as well as he could. His reach wasn't huge, but wide enough to feel his ANBU escort- and Ox, right in the middle. Could Fox really have made such a basic mistake, or had something happened to Ox as well? And why the hell hadn't Kakashi thought of it immediately?

Fox was a strategist by heart. Maybe something had changed, made him rush his plans and screw up. Maybe.

Kakashi focused his attention on the interrogation again.

"You're sure you didn't see anyone, when you were possessed?" Ino asked again.

Sai nodded. "I'm sure."

Ino looked over her shoulder at Kakashi. He nodded back.

Permission granted, Ino turned back to Sai. "Sai-kun, I'm going to use my shintenshin no jutsu to see if you were possessed in the same way Genma was. Please try to relax and don't resist my jutsu, okay?"

Unease flickered in Sai's expression for a moment. Then he nodded.

Ino smiled reassuringly and placed a hand on Sai's forehead. She raised her other hand in the Ram seal. Kakashi could feel the burst of her chakra, almost immediately followed by Sai's instinctive response. Then, Sai's chakra weakened and ebbed away, allowing Ino free range of his mind.

After a moment, Sai's body _seized_. He gasped in pain and jerked away from Ino's hand, limbs shaking painfully.

"Shit- _Ino!_" Sakura immediately forced her way forward. Karin let up the seals just in time, and then Sakura was in the cell and at Sai's side. Sai fell onto his side, his eyes rolling away in his skull and his body shaking uncontrollably.

With the seals now down, Naruto wanted to rush into the cell as well, but Sasuke stopped him. "You'll only crowd them, you idiot," he said, a hint of concern on his otherwise emotionless features.

Kakashi watched with a growing sense of despair as Sakura worked on Sai. Her brow was furrowed and her chakra blazed furiously as she tried to help him. After what felt like minutes, Sai's body stopped seizing and dropped into a stupor.

Sakura sat back and wiped a hand over her forehead. "He's stable now," She said, her shoulders sagging in relief. "I suppose the strain of two mind control jutsu's in a row became too much. I don't think there will be any brain damage, but we'll have to make sure in the hospital."

At her side, Ino had her hand over her mouth. There were tears in her eyes, but she hadn't lost her determination. "I'll take care of it," she said. "I did this to him, after all."

"Ino, no- it wasn't your fault," Sakura argued, but Ino wouldn't have it.

"No, it is. My fault, as well as whoever did this to him in the first place. But I'll figure out what happened to him, I promise. I'll figure it out." With those last words, she took Sai's hand and squeezed it softly.

Kakashi felt something in his chest clench. When he had been younger, he had been so sure this generation wouldn't have to go through hardships like these. How wrong he had been.

He cleared his throat. "Please let me know when he wakes up. Karin, I want you to accompany Ino and see what you can do."

Karin didn't contest being given orders by him, fortunately, and soon the two young women had helped Sai out, with the aid of a few other guards.

"Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, I want you three to investigate ROOT's HQ. Something about what Sai said doesn't match up with the timeline. Clear the whole building, if you must. I have a feeling there's _something_." He scratched the back of his head thoughtlessly when something occurred to him. "Oh- and, err, if you find a dressed up weirdo whose chakra feels like mine- just..just ignore him."

Sasuke eyed him sharply. "Your clone? You sent him down _there?_"

Kakashi felt slightly insulted that Sasuke knew it was his clone from 'dressed up weirdo' without knowing the clone was _actually_ dressed up, but managed to repress his rather childish reply ('look at your _own_ clothes, Sasuke!'). He smiled sheepishly.

"What clone? What's going on?" Naruto asked. Sakura shrugged, equally surprised.

Kakashi sighed. So much for his secret plan. "I just.. had a hunch. I also figured you kids wouldn't appreciate it if I went exploring on my own again, so I sent a clone instead.."

Naruto and Sakura eyed him critically.

"Well. It's _kind_ of an improvement?" Sakura said hesitantly.

Naruto still looked sceptical. "If we do run into this clone, I'll punch him in the face so he explodes. You shouldn't be using so much chakra."

"Mahh, he might be of use!" Kakashi tried, but he suspected it was a lost cause. Fortunately for him, the conversation was quickly diverted by Naruto again as he rounded on Sasuke.

"Wait, you _knew_ Sensei had sent out a clone, and didn't tell us about it?" He exclaimed.

Sasuke's eyes widened minutely. "It was just a clone, I didn't figure it was anything important-"

"The hell it wasn't!" Naruto counted loudly.

Kakashi decided to use this moment to get away. After all, he still had some other things to take care of. As Naruto and Sasuke bickered behind him, he quietly snuck away-

Only to be stopped by Sakura's iron grip on his arm. "Sensei. Whatever you're about to do, please- let me come along." She said, her bright green eyes so earnest that Kakashi felt his heart clench again. In the background, Naruto and Sasuke's bickering continued.

Oh, what the hell. Sakura was one of the strongest kunoichi in the world. He sighed, then smiled slightly. "Okay. I'll explain on the way."

The grateful smile Sakura gave him made it worth it.

With Sakura at his side, Kakashi slipped out of the corridor and into the mazes of the T&amp;I building. Above, he could feel the chakra signatures of his ANBU Squad trail him- including Ox's.

A single chakra flare would be enough to summon Ox. Just one. And then he would find out whether one of his old teammates and colleagues was a traitor, or just a bad agent.

All of a sudden, he felt very grateful Sakura was at his side.

* * *

**AN:**

**Please forgive me, Sai.**

**I got quite the scare a few days ago when my laptop ate this chapter in its entirety. Fortunately it was also saved as a temporary file, and I could recover it! Phew.**

**Thank you for reading and reviewing! What did you think of this chapter? What do you think of Fox!Sai's answers to all those questions? Did you like Karin's inclusion in the chapter?**

**Tenshin, I would answer your question privately but I'm afraid I can't unless you log in. To put it shortly, Sasuke is angry for both of those reasons. He feels pretty conflicted: Kakashi being ROOT makes him distrustful, but Danzo trying to kill him for getting out makes him angry all the same.**

**Question, one I've been pondering for a while: is the plural for genin, chunin and jounin genins, chunins and jounins, or are they the deer of the ninja world..?**

**Next chapter: Naruto and Sasuke meet an all-too familiar weirdo in ROOT's HQ. Meanwhile, Kakashi, Sakura and Bisuke square off with ANBU Ox..**


	16. Take Your Broken Feet (and Run)

**Chapter 16. Take Your Broken Feet (and run)**

* * *

**AN: Suicide TW.  
**

Kakashi led Sakura through the winding corridors of the T&amp;I Department. She wasn't sure how he knew it so well, but she followed his lead without questioning. He kept a good pace, but she could see from the pale colour of his skin that he was wearing thin.

His dog, Bisuke, brushed past her legs and gave her a grateful look. "Thanks for comin' along. The boss is restless today," he piped up.

Kakashi glanced at them over his shoulder, but didn't comment.

Sakura smiled at the dog. "It's no problem. I'm glad to be of service."

"Say, Sakura-chan, you're a medic, right? Kakashi's ill- please keep an eye on him. Tsunade looked real concerned this morning."

Sakura stopped walking. "Tsunade- this morning? How do you mean?"

Bisuke opened his mouth to answer her but before he could, Kakashi called out to them.

"We're almost there," he said, his deep voice echoing as he stepped into a much wider room.

Sakura decided to save her concerns for later- whatever Kakashi was planning, she suspected it would happen in this room.

"What is this place?" She asked quietly.

Kakashi-sensei scratched the back of his head. "From what I can tell, it's intended to give the prisoners some room to walk. There aren't actually any windows, though." He sighed. "Seems a depressing place. Still, it'll do."

"Do for what, sensei?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi turned towards her. He was a little bit easier to read with both his eyes visible than he had been before, but it was hard to get anything more nuanced than 'happy', 'worried', 'lazy' or 'angry' (although Naruto claimed he had learned to distinguish something he liked to call Kakashi-sensei's 'porn-reading' face. What exactly this entailed, Sakura didn't _want_ to know). Right now, though, Kakashi-sensei looked decidedly worried.

"I can't explain it in too much detail, so I'll just put it like this; we're about to meet someone who may know more about our furry friend." Kakashi-sensei said.

_Furry friend. Fox?_ Sakura frowned. Who did Kakashi-sensei mean?

She watched as he made a brief hand signal. His chakra flared sharply, and moments later an ANBU agent appeared at his side. He was a large, burly man, thick brown hair sticking out in tufts from behind his mask. "You called, Hokage-sama?" He rumbled.

What- an ANBU agent? Sakura instantly felt on edge. What did he have to do with _Fox_? But it wouldn't explain why Kakashi-sensei hadn't said anything- as his ANBU escort, this guy might have overheard.

"ANBU Ox- I would like to ask you why you neglected to guard Koharu-sama last night." Kakashi said gravely, crossing his arms over his chest and levelling Ox with a stare. His chakra rumbled slowly to life underneath the surface of his skin; a clear threat to anyone capable of sensing chakra.

Ox flinched and dropped his head.

Sakura felt her heartbeat pick up. Of course. It would make sense if Kakashi-sensei had ordered someone to switch places with Sai sometime during the night, when he had been guarding Koharu. If that had been Ox- why hadn't he sounded the alarm?

Sakura frowned as Ox dropped to one knee.

"Hokage-sama- please believe me when I say it was an honest mistake-"

"I know you, Ox. I have known you for years. You are not the type to make such greenhorn mistakes. Now tell me the truth; what were you doing last night?" Kakashi-sensei's voice cut through Ox's without warning, sharp and angry. Sakura blinked. She'd almost never heard him like that.

The silence that followed Kakashi-sensei's statement seemed to stretch forever. Finally, Ox shifted his pose slightly. First, his fingers lifted off of the ground, then his knee, and then he shifted into a loose stance- nonchalant, and entirely unlike the posture of an ANBU reporting to his Hokage.

"I was following my master's orders, Hokage-sama." Ox said, with a curious lilt to his voice.

"Your.._master_?" Sakura echoed, as she instinctively drew her chakra closer together so she'd be able to respond in a pinch if she had to. Right now, she was not Kakashi-sensei's student, but his bodyguard. Even though he'd probably hate the idea of that.

Ox seemed to hesitate, then dropped his shoulders and laughed oddly. "Oh, why not? The game is up for me. If you hadn't ordered me to take Sai's shift, it would have been fine. But _no_, you had to be responsible."

Kakashi-sensei's chakra rolled dangerously. The air in the room felt heavy and warm all of a sudden, pressing down on Sakura from all sides and alive with the crackle of energy waiting to be unleashed. _Killing intent_.

Ox shivered visibly. "Yeah, alright, you're probably going to kill me, or let me waste away in a prison cell. It's not personal, Kakashi-senpai, I assure you- you were a good colleague, back in ANBU. A killer captain, one I would have proudly served with. But it's wrong, you see, this system," He spoke rapidly, with a faint tremor in his voice.

"System?" Kakashi-sensei growled, "What system?"

_The Shinobi System?_ Sakura thought, feeling uncomfortable.

Ox laughed hoarsely. "The fact that you don't know says enough. As if it isn't obvious- Hokage after Hokage, and none of you once realized you were doing it all wrong."

"Doing _what_ wrong?" Sakura spat out, her anger growing. This man did _not_ get to insult the Hokages.

Ox shook his head quickly. "You're a part of the system too, little girl. _Nepotism_. Every Hokage so far has been somehow related to their predecessor, which is why each and every one has made the same mistakes. If Danzou-sama had been named Sixth, things might finally have improved- but no, instead we have a perfectly neat little dynasty of drunken idiots and the son of a cowardly traitor-"

Sakura was so distracted by the slight to Tsunade that she almost didn't hear the second insult until she saw Kakashi-sensei flinch. Sakura whirled towards him, but by then whatever expression had flashed over his face had already shifted into anger.

"So what, kill the elders and me to make a statement?" He said.

"Oh, Fox said that would be all you would take from it, but I didn't believe him. I guess he was right-again. It's more than that- so much more. You see, you're not going to die- that's not part of the plan at all-" Ox hissed.

Bisuke's hackles raised and his lips pulled back over razor sharp teeth as he began to growl at Ox.

Sakura blinked. "Ehh- what?"

In the shocked silence that followed, Ox chuckled again. "Not directly, anyway. You think we didn't account for Tsunade or your student fixing you up? First, we take out your little friends, your alliances. _Then_, once you've well and truly failed this village, we take you down. Or maybe we won't even have to- maybe the village will do it for us, like they did with your fathe-"

"ENOUGH," Kakashi-sensei barked. Sakura couldn't help but stare at him. He looked flustered and shocked, his eyes wide and his cheeks red. What was Ox going to say..?

"What- why- is this some kind of.. personal grudge?" Kakashi-sensei stammered.

Ox tilted his head. "A little. Maybe. Or maybe I'm lying. Maybe nothing I've said so far is true. What _is_ true, though, is that you're going to get weaker with every passing day. I wonder what the village will think when the man who is supposed to be their protector can't do the one job he's supposed to do..?"

Sakura had had enough of this. "That's it!" She cried out, "You've said enough!"

"No, Sakura-"

Sakura ignored Kakashi-sensei and rushed towards Ox. Sure, he was ANBU, but she was _Haruno Sakura_.

She got close enough to see Ox's eyes widen behind his mask before he finally managed to respond. Then he rolled out of the way of her punch and almost lost his balance due to the air displacement caused by the force of her blow.

"_Shit-!"_

Ox tried a roundhouse sweep, but she easily leapt over his leg and came down on it, _hard_. She heard and felt something snap, and Ox cried out in pain.

Continuing her movement, Sakura reached for his collar with her left hand. Ox flashed through hand seals, and she had to leap back in order to avoid the torrent of flames that erupted from his mask.

Sudden, ferocious snarls distracted her for a moment, and then Bisuke streaked past her and straight at Ox. The little dog launched himself at the agent, going straight for the throat. Behind her, Kakashi-sensei cursed and shouted something, but Sakura barely heard it.

Ox screamed as Bisuke bit down on his shoulder, but he was ANBU- it would take more than just a broken leg and a dog to take him out. He ripped Bisuke away with one move of his arm, throwing the poor dog halfway across the room- only to be met with a torrent of stone arrows, courtesy of Kakashi-sensei.

Ox yelped and managed to avoid the worst of the attack, but one arrow pinned his cloak to the ground. Sakura made use of the momentum to launch herself towards him, one arm cocked back, and smash her fist into his temple.

Even without chakra, she was strong enough to knock him out cold and crack his mask. At the last moment, however, he ripped his cloak in order to escape her attack, so her fist glanced his mask instead.

The mask shattered at her touch and revealed his pale, frightened features. For a moment they were eye to eye, her determined green ones staring straight into his terrified browns- and then he gave her a desperate smile.

Before she really understood what he was doing, he had already bitten down on something, _hard_. Oh _no- that was-_

By the time Sakura reached him, Ox had collapsed to the ground. His body was still convulsing, but the light in his eyes had died.

_Cyanide_. And a particularly vicious type.

"A suicide pill," Kakashi-sensei said behind her. He sounded utterly exhausted. "Looks like he.. he came here prepared. He must have suspected-"

Sakura stood over Ox, still panting, then bent down to pull the remains of his mask from his face. He didn't look particularly remarkable- narrow, brown eyes, still half-open, looked back at her from a somewhat plain, large-nosed face. He was probably somewhere in his late thirties- old, for someone in ANBU.

Sakura looked back at Kakashi-sensei. "Is it him? Not some impersonator?" She asked.

Kakashi nodded wearily as he joined her. He seemed even paler than before and was moving stiffly. A clone, Kuchiyose, and earth ninjutsu normally wouldn't slow him down, but in his current condition... "It's him. Doesn't seem to be under anyone's control, either."

Bisuke limped towards them and flattened himself against Kakashi-sensei's leg. Ox's blood was still staining his teeth and muzzle, giving the usually cute dog a surprisingly fierce appearance. "I didn't _like_ that man," he whined.

Kakashi-sensei sighed. "You did a foolish thing, Bisuke."

"But he _insulted _old _master._" Bisuke whined again, looking up at Kakashi-sensei.

Old master? What...?

"So did a lot of others," Kakashi-sensei muttered. "C'mon, Sakura. We got what we wanted- more or less, anyway."

"What about his body?" Sakura asked, but as she did so she already knew the answer; chakra signatures lit up around her, and it wasn't long before a group of prison guards came flooding into the room. They must have felt the chakra discharge from the fight.

"I'm sorry, sensei- if I hadn't rushed in-" Sakura said hesitantly.

Kakashi-sensei shook his head. "Don't be. He'd have done it either way. He knew he couldn't take us both on."

Sakura wondered suddenly what would have happened if Kakashi-sensei had gone alone- would he have been able to take Ox down in his current condition? She felt a sharp stab of anxiety- would he have died? Or- oh- was she buying into Ox's narrative, now? She shoved away any doubts. Of _course_ sensei would have won. She had just.. made it easier. Right?

That said.. She had other questions, too. She looked up at Kakashi-sensei, who was still staring at Ox's body even as prison guards and ANBU alike surrounded it to take it away.

"Kakashi-sensei, what did he mean, about your father?" Sakura asked carefully. It occurred to her she knew next to nothing about Kakashi-sensei's family- only their glaring absence in his life. She'd always assumed they had died, but she'd never really thought about the implications of that.

"It's- ahh. It's nothing, Sakura." Kakashi-sensei didn't meet her eye. "Let's.. Let's go back up. See whether Sai has woken up yet."

Sakura had a feeling there was a lot more to it than that. Maybe it was time to pay Tsunade-shishou a visit...

* * *

Kakashi leaned back in his chair and stared out of the window. Dark clouds were gathering above Konoha, and as he watched he could see the first flashes of lightning streak through the sky. It wouldn't be long before thunder rolled over the village.

_"-maybe the village will do it for us, like they did with your fathe-"_

He almost physically flinched when he remembered Ox's words. A weak Hokage, one incapable of protecting his village, disgraced and ashamed, and- no. No. He couldn't think like that- to think like that was death to the mind.

He suddenly remembered a moment from his childhood, long ago. There'd been a bad storm and he'd been frightened- he must have been very young- and he'd gone to his father's room..

_"Are you scared of the lightning?" His father had asked._

_"N-no. I'm not scared of anything."_

_"It's okay to be frightened. Even I feel that way sometimes."_

_"…You do?"_

_"Oh yes. Quite often, actually. And there's no shame in it."_

_"What could scare you?"_

_"Heh, well- do you remember when you broke your arm last year?"_

_"Yeah,"_

_"I was very scared back then."_

_"You were? Why? It was just a broken arm. The medic healed it in ten minutes."_

_"Well, yes, I know that. But I was worried about you. Worried it might be worse than a broken arm.""_

_"That doesn't make sense. Breaks heal."_

_"That's because fear isn't rational, Kakashi. Well- sometimes it is, but usually it isn't. You remember that word, right? 'Rational'? Yeah? Good. It's not rational to feel so frightened when one's son breaks his arm. Just as it isn't rational to fear lightning when you're inside the house. But we feel it anyway."_

_"…"_

_"I know, no need to pout. I told you; it's okay to be scared. But some fears can be conquered. Like being scared of lightning."_

_"..How?"_

_"By becoming familiar with it. Do you know how lightning is created?"_

_"Something in the clouds..?"_

_"Yes. Tomorrow morning, I will borrow a book about it from the library; then we can see what really makes it. If you know how it works, it won't seem as frightening."_

_"Okay."_

_"Besides, just remember this: If you're inside a house, the lightning won't be able to reach you. Particularly not if yours truly is around, heh. Yeah- you know, lightning is kind of my thing. And I'd never hurt you. You know that."_

_"Never."_

_"Exactly. Now, go lie down, and I'll- yeah, like that- I'll get your blanket- do you also want Spot? Yeah? Alright. I'm getting him for you. Here you go. Now- close your eyes, and think about the house around you that keeps you safe. You hear the rain on the roof?"_

_"Uhuh."_

_"That's our shield from the storm. At night, the house becomes our protector."_

_"We have a ninja house?"_

_"Heheh, yeah, I suppose we do. Is it a jounin, I wonder?"_

_"Yeah. It keeps the lightning away."_

_"That it does. Now; bedtime for you, young man. You're not old enough to be up at this time yet."_

_"I am too! I'm five!"_

_"Exactly. Close your eyes- you're more tired than you think. Close your eyes. We'll keep you safe."_

_"…Would you stay a little longer?"_

_"As long as it takes."_

Kakashi sighed, closed his eyes, and tried not to be afraid of something he hadn't worried about in years.

* * *

If there was anything Naruto discovered over the past few days, it was that he didn't _get_ Kakashi-sensei. Not that that was a revelation, or anything. He wasn't sure he'd _ever_ quite understood Kakashi-sensei. But this- this took the cake.

Konoha's number one advocate on all things teamwork, Hatake Kakashi, was absolutely rubbish at teamwork. Well, not in battle, really. Or during missions, usually. But here and now? When it concerned his own _life?_

It was just like Kakashi-sensei to be so blasé about the whole thing. To send out a clone and summon dogs and get into scrapes when he should be in a hospital bed-

Because Naruto couldn't seem to stop thinking about the fact that Kakashi-sensei had already died once. Couldn't quite shake the memory of his chakra _just not being there when it should be, _like a hole in the world.

No way Naruto would let something like that happen again.

Sasuke didn't say much as they traipsed down to ROOT HQ. One of Kakashi-sensei's dogs, of all people, had explained where the entrance was and how they could get in, and with Sasuke's eyes it hadn't taken them very long to figure things out.

With Kurama's chakra cloak activated, Naruto didn't even need a torch. It was a nice side-effect of resembling a miniature sun, even if it _did_ ruin any chance he might have at not being noticed. That suited Naruto just fine, though- it was much easier to beat someone up when they were trying to run away from him.

Besides, it allowed him to sense the chakra signatures of anyone nearby. So far, he could only sense Sasuke, as well as the ghost signatures of old seals in the building around him. To be honest, it kind of gave him the creeps. This place was ROOT HQ- little kids had fought and killed in these hallways. It was hard to imagine Kakashi, Sai or Yamato-Taichou down here, but he tried anyway. Would they have been scared, to come down here as kids? To live here, maybe?

He shivered a little. His own childhood hadn't exactly been a walk in the park, but at least he hadn't been a pint-sized assassin.

_They might have actually paid attention to you if you had been,_ Kurama grumbled, but Naruto ignored him. He'd left all of that behind him- any resentment he still felt towards the villagers was easily pushed down.

"So where's this clone of Kakashi's?" Sasuke muttered at his side. "Wasn't he supposed to be down here?"

Naruto shrugged. "Lemme check." He closed his eyes. Clones were harder to sense than people because they didn't have any kind of natural chakra- all they had was the small amount of chakra their creators had infused them with. It was harder to sense their emotions too because those emotions were much flatter, without the nuance or depth of an actual person.

Still, after a moment of concentration, he was pretty sure he could sense a flickering presence up ahead. "Not much further. I'm not sure it's him, though," He added, letting Sasuke know to be on his guard.

Sasuke sniffed but nodded, and drew out his sword.

It took a few more minutes of walking through the dusty hallways before Naruto could say with certainty that it was Kakashi's chakra up ahead. By that time, the clone had obviously become aware of them too, and was no longer moving around. Almost as if he'd frozen on the spot, really.

Naruto sped up and ran into the chamber where he knew the clone was, cocking his fist back to do what he'd set out to do- save Kakashi-sensei some chakra, and himself a headache.

What he found instead of Kakashi was a perfect stranger, leaping out of his path and clinging to the ceiling with an undignified squawk.

"Naruto, what are you doing?!" The stranger said with Kakashi-sensei's voice.

Naruto stared. The man who, Kurama insisted, really _was_ Kakashi-sensei, had a full head of wavy auburn hair, greyish eyes, weird purple facial markings and a very, very bare face.

"Face." Naruto managed. "You- ah- you have a face." He pointed.

The clone flushed immediately and pawed at his face with one hand. "It's- uhh- ahh- I'm-!"

Sasuke entered the room at a full run, eyes wide and Sharingan activated. "What happened? Did someone attack-" He froze when he spotted the clone. His eyes widened almost imperceptibly.

"A- ahh- _henge_!" The clone stammered, as he dropped from the ceiling into a crouch.

Naruto squinted at him, his earlier resolve all but forgotten. The clone had a nice sort of face, even with the weird purple markings. It looked kind of familiar, even...

At his side, Sasuke opened his mouth to say something. For some reason, he looked a bit flushed.

"Wait a minute-" Naruto blinked, "I've seen you before!"

The clone's eyes widened. Was that a bead of sweat on his forehead?

"You're that photographer!" Naruto exclaimed, feeling completely outraged. "It was you all along!"

Sasuke frowned. "What photographer...?" All of a sudden, his eyes widened and he turned on the clone. "That ANBU! Sukea!"

"Oh boy," was all the clone had to say for himself as he once again retreated to a safe corner of the ceiling.

"You mean we tried to see your face- proper you- all day, and you were there to... to... trick us all along?"

"Ah- now- perhaps we should stay focused on our mission," The clone raised his hands defensively. "It's rather important, you see-"

"To hell with the mission! We didn't _fail_, you sabotaged us! Ahh! I bet you made Akamaru jump in front of the camera that one time!" The urge to punch the clone in the face returned full force. "You were just a transformed Kakashi-sensei all along!"

He barely noticed Sasuke's frown, or his quietly muttered, "That's not a _henge_-". Instead, he launched himself at the clone, only to be held back when Sasuke's hand shot out and grabbed him.

"Calm down, you idiot! The clone is right- we have more important things to worry about than ridiculous pranks," Sasuke hissed. "Besides, he might be able to help."

The clone looked slightly crestfallen. "I thought it was rather good, really."

"No, don't you see? We could have seen Kakashi-sensei's face if he hadn't interfered!" He pointed at the clone again, whose face seemed curiously red.

Naruto cried out in frustration and turned away from the two, running his hands through his hair. In the moment that his back was turned, Sasuke and the clone met each other's eyes. Sasuke raised an eyebrow, belying the curious blush on his cheeks. The clone gave him a pathetically pleading look. Sasuke sighed, rolled his eyes, and mouthed something that looked suspiciously like 'you owe me'. The clone sagged in relief.

Fortunately for them both, they were saved the trouble of having to lie when Naruto turned back and took a deep breath. "Okay. Okay, I'll forgive you this once on account of you being clinically insane, Kakashi-sensei."

"Ah- uhh-"

Naruto pressed on, ignoring the sad eyes the clone was subjecting him to. "We gotta figure out what else we can discover down here. And why are you transformed, anyway? Is that- are you ingo-inconi-incognito?"

The clone dropped from the ceiling again and brushed a hand through his hair. "...Yeah. That's it. I'm incognito. Can't have the Hokage go sniffing around ANBU HQ, right?"

Naruto didn't understand. "Actually, wouldn't that be easier? It's not as though they could tell you to go away."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Is _that _why you want to be Hokage?"

"Oi! Shut it." Naruto retorted, and tried not to blush when Kurama cackled. "That's not why! Anyway, we've got important things to do, right? You!" He pointed at the clone, "You've been here a while. What have you found?"

And just like that, Naruto's companions turned serious again. Naruto gave himself a mental pat on the back for a job well done, then turned to the clone.

Sukea-Kakashi cleared his throat. "Ahh- well, not much, at first. But here..." He jabbed a thumb at the wall behind him. "Well- Sasuke, you can probably tell more easily..."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. The wall? It looked like it was just an ordinary wall. "What, is it a secret door, or something?" He guessed, stepping past Kakashi to inspect it. It _looked_ every bit as grey and dull as the rest of the wall.

"It's hidden behind a genjutsu," Sasuke said suddenly, staring intently at the wall.

Naruto gasped. He could feel it now- he'd been so intent on Kakashi-sensei's clone that he hadn't noticed. But there it was- a subtle thread of chakra running through the room and towards the door, and behind it... something else.

Sasuke stepped forward and lightly tapped the wall with his forefingers. The change was almost immediate: shadows rippled over the wall, dripping down like rain on a window plane, and leaving a simple door in its wake.

"Yeah... It's a secret door, alright." Kakashi said, "and someone has been here recently. The air smells differently here than in the other rooms."

Naruto made a mental note not to underestimate Kakashi-sensei's freaky sense of smell, and stepped up behind Sasuke. "So? We're gonna go in, right?"

Sasuke sniffed. "Of course. A hidden chamber in ROOT HQ, which is already secret? This has got to be Fox's hiding place."

"Well, maybe..." Kakashi sensei's clone began, "but either way, we might as well check it out. Sasuke, is it booby trapped?"

"It doesn't _seem_ to be," Sasuke said slowly.

That was enough for Naruto. He brushed past Sasuke and pushed the door open. Fortunately, it wasn't locked, which saved him the embarrassment of walking headfirst into a wall. The moment he stepped through, he felt a spike of anxiety. Something was _wrong-_

Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei's clone were already stepping through behind him.

Naruto turned towards them as dread overcame him. Something was very, very wrong in this room. "Wait-" He began, but whatever he was about to say died in his mouth as glaringly bright lines lit up on the floor and wall around him and a massive amount of chakra rushed to life.

It was a seal.

There was just enough time for him to see Sasuke's astonished expression and the clone's worried one, when the world around him disappeared in a rush of flames and sound.

For a moment, there was nothing but fear, heat and pain. Then, something large and clawed wrapped around him protectively; Sasuke's chakra, full of the intent to protect, side by side with Kurama's. Slowly, the world began to make sense again- right up until he looked up and realized he could see the dark, clouded sky above him.

As rain drops began to pour down onto his burned face, Naruto realized the seal had ripped ROOT HQ apart in its entirety.

* * *

**AN:**

**So... this kind of makes up for the last chapter's delay, right?**

**Aaaangst. Angst.**

**Title taken from Laura Mvula's **_**Overcome**_**.**

**Thank you to all the kind reviewers, and those of you who have favorited, subscribed or otherwise liked the story.**

**I also wanted to reply to the guest reviewer, who wrote the following:**

_**'Many Kakashi-centric fanfictions tends to 'torture' or make him seem overpowered than he actually is, prior to the manga, he seems to be quite useless towards the end of Naruto. However you seem to take it in, acknowledging the fact that Kakashi's just isn't all that powerful, comparing of that to his students**_**.'**

**I think Kakashi is pretty strong, but in a very different way from his students. Where they're 'weapons of mass destruction', so to say, Kakashi's strength is more subtle and based around both strategy, evasion and assassination. Most ninja would have a hell of a time trying to take him on! I also think the manga has a way of making him look weaker than he is. Look up the trope 'the Worf Effect' on TVtropes, and you'll know what I mean.. Aside from that, for someone capable of using a 1000 jutsu, why do we only see him use about 8..? WHAT ARE YOU HIDING FROM US? (unless, of course, he knows 992 assorted party tricks.. I would not be surprised.) **

**That said- he's still very much human, with human skills- as opposed to his demi-god students...**


	17. Fox's War

_**Dying is easy, young man, living is harder,"**_

**Hamilton, 'Meet me inside.'**

* * *

**Chapter 17. Fox's War**

* * *

**_Dying is easy, young man, living is harder,"_**

**Hamilton, 'Meet me inside.'**

* * *

**Chapter 17. Fox's War**

* * *

As Kakashi's clone died in a wave of heat and pain, Kakashi woke up gasping for air. Just as he did so, a lightning bolt cut through the sky and lit up the room, casting sharp shadows. Thunder rolled through the air nearly simultaneously, deafening Kakashi. For a moment he thought it had been an explosion before reality caught up with him.

Kakashi blinked away the remainder of the disorientation that came with waking up and having the clone's memories rushing through his mind at the same time. Once he'd managed to extrapolate the clone's memories from his own, his stomach twisted. Naruto and Sasuke were in trouble.

The clone had died so quickly it must have been a very sudden attack. Kakashi rolled himself off of the couch. And- something else was wrong. The air seemed heavy. Kakashi immediately spread out his senses, channelling chakra to his ears and nose to increase their abilities. He could hear faint screams outside, and the smell of ozone was tinged with something else. After a moment, he identified it. _Fire._

So it _had_ been an explosion.

A great plume of smoke rose over Konoha's ANBU district. Kakashi's heart constricted. Naruto and Sasuke had been underneath it, in ROOT HQ.

It had started, then. Fox's war.

Kakashi's heartbeat picked up and he coiled his chakra tightly within himself. Another war, and one _he could not afford to lose._

"Hokage-sama!" Two figures entered the room behind him.

With his enhanced senses, Kakashi didn't have to turn around to know who they were. The tension in his stomach lessened just a little- Tenzou and Yuugao hadn't been in the ANBU buildings, at least.

"ROOT HQ has been blown up," Kakashi said curtly, "Yuugao, find as many ANBU as you can and start evacuation of ANBU HQ's immediate vicinity. Help as many survivors as you can. Tenzou, you're with me."

Overhead, the storm continued to rage. Kakashi could feel the crackle of electricity down to his bones as it pulled on his chakra, urging him to _take it_, use it, feel it. If it came down to a fight today, he'd certainly have the ideal weather conditions for it.

Sakura joined them in a flash of red and pink. "What happened? Is it Fox again?" Her voice shook with anger.

"There's no time for explanations," Kakashi said, "Naruto and Sasuke are down there."

Tenzou and Sakura both blanched. "What...?"

"My clone was with them. He died in the explosion. His memories showed me they were with him when it happened."

After that, no further words were necessary. With his former student and kouhai by his side, Kakashi rushed towards the site of the explosion. Dust was still settling around them which made it hard to see the damage and clogged up his nose, but the closer they got the more they could see. The explosion had torn a sizeable hole through ROOT HQ and had taken part of the buildings above along with it. Kakashi took the scene in and tried to make a mental picture of what parts of ANBU HQ had been damaged. As far as he could tell, it was a sizeable part of the living quarters.

The only mercy was that at this time of the day, most active ANBU would be out of the village or on duty, not in their beds. Naruto and Sasuke were not so lucky.

As if to underline his mood, the storm rumbled dangerously above them.

As Kakashi neared the site, the thought _they're fine they're fine they're fine_ ran through his mind like a mantra. They _had_ to be, those kids couldn't have died in something like this. Something in Kakashi's chest clenched as his mind helpfully provided him with images of Naruto and Sasuke, their bodies charred and mangled-

Kurama's chakra flared bright and strong amidst the rubble, once, twice, and then a great golden arm burst through the wreckage, grabbed hold of what remained of the wall, and pulled itself up. A moment later, Sasuke and Naruto's chakras reinserted themselves into the world- and with it, Kakashi could breathe again.

_They were fine._

Sakura let out a deep breath. "Oh, good," she said faintly. "Sensei, I'm going to see who I can help-" She trailed off, perhaps wondering whether he could be left alone or perhaps too eager to reunite with her teammates to want to help anyone else.

Kakashi nodded at her. "Go. Check if they're okay," He said, "and you too, Tenzou. They're going to need your _Mokuton_ to support the wreckage."

"But what about-" Tenzou began, but before he could finish his sentence Shikamaru landed next to them. The young man wore that peculiar mixture of intense focus and emotional distance on his face that Kakashi remembered from the fight against Hidan and Kakuzu.

As Tenzou leapt away to help the others, Shikamaru took his place. At age nineteen, he was starting to look disconcertingly like his father, and was almost as tall as him too. The resemblance was close enough for Kakashi to instinctively want to straighten his shoulders and be on his best behaviour to make an impression on one of the best damn jounin commanders Konoha had ever had, but Shikamaru's youth and lack of disfiguring scars ruined the picture.

"Fox again?" Shikamaru said quietly.

Kakashi nodded. "Undoubtedly. I had a little encounter with one of his buddies this morning." He ignored Shikamaru's briefly shocked expression and went on, "One of my own ANBU detail. Which is a problem."

Shikamaru's expression shifted back into stoic professionalism, but emotion flickered behind his eyes. "Ch. That _is_ a problem. You trusted him?"

"With my life," Kakashi said, trying to sound nonchalant. "It would seem we've been naive. It's not just ROOT. Ox was part of regular ANBU half his life."

"But how does he recruit them?" Shikamaru asked, "there must be some factor they all have in common, other than being ANBU."

A shiver ran up Kakashi's spine. "A certain homicidal tendency, I'm guessing," He said lightly, but he didn't actually remember Ox being anything other than perfectly composed and professional during the time they had served together. Ox had been an orphan, Kakashi remembered, with a number of close friends and no family of his own. Perhaps he'd carried resentment over his parents' death, or lost teammates, or... He sighed. Whatever Ox's reasons, he had betrayed his village and Hokage. He had deserved to be punished, yes- Kakashi just wished it hadn't happened like _that_.

With the number of ANBU and helpful chunins and joinins already running around to help the survivors, Kakashi didn't think there was anything he could contribute other than showing his face and hopefully boosting morale a little. He jerked his head at Shikamaru, who seemed to know what he wanted, and together they strode towards the ruins. Kakashi put on the sternest expression he could muster. He couldn't afford to look any weaker than he already had.

In the distance, Sakura and Tenzou worked together to lift up one of the collapsed walls. Naruto, who was cloaked in Kurama's chakra and stood out like a lighthouse at night, jumped down into the chasm underneath it and came back up with an injured woman. Sasuke, still cloaked in _Susano'o_, watched quietly.

All around Kakashi, Yuugao and other ANBU were keeping the public away and evacuating the nearest buildings. As Kakashi passed, he stopped Yugao briefly to ask her to make a register of which ANBU were supposed to be in the village right now, and to count which of them were safe. It would be helpful to see whether there were any possible survivors, but Kakashi was also interested to find out whether there were any ANBU missing, perhaps because they had already known not to be in the living quarters at this time. Yuugao seemed to understand his intentions without him having to explain them, and set about to make it happen.

Up above, thunder continued to rumble. Kakashi's white coat was already clinging to his uniform from the rain. He shivered. He still didn't feel very well, but the pain was manageable. His temperature was higher than it should be, and he made a mental note to tell Tsunade or Sakura about it. Better that than death-by-enraged-student, he figured.

Kakashi turned back to Shikamaru to find the younger man looking at him with interest. "What happened?" Shikamaru asked.

"I think we set off a seal. Must have been triggered to go off if anyone touched it. It was a close call- without Kurama, I'm not sure what would have happened. Whatever was in ROOT HQ, someone really didn't want us to see it." Kakashi ran a hand through his damp hair and trained his eyes on the distant figures of his students. Naruto was finally standing still long enough for Sakura to help him, and from what Kakashi could see, she was healing something on his face. But he was alive, and between Kurama and Sakura, any injuries he might have sustained would be healed in no time. Kakashi felt like he could breathe again.

Shikamaru took a moment to register what Kakashi had said. "There can't have been anyone else down there, though. Maybe it was a trap instead. Maybe Fox hoped you would go down there yourself."

Kakashi sighed and shook his head. "No, it's... I don't think it's as simple as that. That ANBU this morning- Ox, it was Ox- he suggested-" Kakashi trailed off, unsure of how to continue. Shikamaru was one of the brightest minds in the village; it would be better to tell the truth. But that would also require leaving himself vulnerable.

He decided to soldier on. "They don't just want me dead. They want me disgraced. They want all the Hokage to be disgraced."

"What...? _Why_?" Shikamaru burst out, finally showing some genuine emotion.

"Beats me," Kakashi shrugged, "but at a guess, I'd say it's a personal grudge. Just not necessarily against _me. _Perhaps someone died, or Fox somehow suffered at the hands of one of the Hokage..." He thought of Itachi and Sasuke.

Shikamaru eyed him closely. "Like what?"

Kakashi gestured at the ruins before him. "In our line of work, people die often. They die _young_, and they leave behind their loved ones. Usually, the person who sent them out to die is the Hokage. That's what it means to be Hokage, I suppose; not just to be responsible for all the lives in the village, but for their deaths as well." Which had been one of the biggest reasons he'd so wanted to avoid becoming Hokage. It was just _too much._

Shikamaru was quiet for a while. One of the muscles in his jaw jumped. "To shoulder the village's burdens, huh...?"

"Yeah," Kakashi grunted. "Anyway, sometimes people... get angry. They blame the Hokage for the loss of their loved ones."

Shikamaru looked at him. "Did you ever...?"

Kakashi blinked and wondered, not for the first time, just how much Shikaku had told Shikamaru about his past. "Yeah- Sandaime. When I was younger, I blamed him for not helping Minato-sensei - the Yondaime- when Kurama attacked. I was angry that he hadn't been there. That Minato-sensei and Kushina had died without anyone to help them," He sighed. "Not my best moment."

"You were just a kid." Shikamaru countered.

"Well, I never said it was rational," Kakashi's lips twitched. "It's hard to figure out who to blame when there isn't an obvious candidate. If you know who killed your loved one, it's much easier. But Kurama seemed more like a force of nature than an individual, at the time."

And of course, no one had known about Obito's involvement. Things would have been different if Kakashi had known. He wasn't sure what his fourteen year old self would have done if he'd discovered that his biggest hero had just killed what was left of his makeshift family.

To their left, chakra flared underneath a patch of rubble. Kakashi frowned and turned towards it, enhancing his senses again. The rumble of thunder became painfully loud and the air was suddenly filled with voices, but after a moment he succeeded in pinpointing a faint noise. "There's someone down there," he said. "Help me out."

Kakashi stepped over the remnants of a door and inspected the obstacle before him. A large slab of concrete hung over what had probably been a room on the floor just below ground-level, where the bathrooms and training hall were situated. Kakashi first tried pulling at the concrete, but when it didn't budge, placed his hands on top of it and pushed his chakra in. Concrete was different from _Doton_, but if he focused he could find enough components similar to the minerals that _Doton_ could manipulate. Forcing his chakra into those components, he made his chakra expand suddenly. It was the same principle as ice breaking open roads, and as he had intended, the slab broke apart with a loud crack.

Shikamaru jumped into action immediately, catching the larger parts of concrete with his shadow technique and safely moving them away. The voice they had heard earlier was much clearer now, and a small hand pushed through a hole in the rubble. Kakashi grabbed it by instinct and gave it a quick squeeze. "We're on our way," he said, and the voice sobbed in relief.

It took them a few more minutes to free the person underneath, who turned out to be a young recruit by the name of Hikari. She couldn't be much older than Shikamaru, and was trying valiantly to stop crying as they pulled her out. Kakashi vaguely remembered Tenzou mentioning her. A talented girl, but she had some issues with anxiety. Her left leg was broken in several places, so Kakashi flagged down a medic to help her.

Shikamaru stayed by his side through the rest of the afternoon. Kakashi's ninken joined them at some point, reporting that aside from Sai no one else had come near Koharu in the past few hours, and then joined them in the search for survivors. They proved to be incredibly helpful, and when a couple of Inuzuka came to help as well, the search became a lot easier. A few of the ANBU they found had been able to shield themselves from the worst of the blast with jutsu, but for most it had been too quick.

The only consolation was that there had only been fifteen or so people actually in the building; most of the other shinobi off-duty had been out in the village, either with friends or doing something else. Of those fifteen, four only had minor injuries, six were badly injured, three had been killed by the building collapsing on top of them, and two had been incinerated by the blast.

Five good shinobi dead, and six incapacitated. As if that wasn't bad enough, Shizune had come by sometime in the afternoon to inform them that while Sai had stabilized, he was still unconscious and showing no signs of waking up. Naruto and Sakura were particularly disappointed by the news, and Kakashi could feel a headache coming on.

By the time Kakashi made it back to his office, he was exhausted both physically and mentally. His office chair looked awfully inviting, so he pushed it back and dropped himself in it. With his last strength, he swung his legs up on the desk, just in time for Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke to enter his office.

Sasuke and Naruto were both looking a little singed around the edges. Sasuke had discarded his cape...poncho...thing and was only wearing a simple white shirt underneath. The sleeve looked ragged, only adding to the whole rogue-ninja aesthetic. Naruto was still wearing his jacket, but half the sleeve was missing and his prosthetic arm was clearly visible underneath. A compress of bandages covered most of his left cheek, but knowing him he wouldn't have to wear it for very long.

Kakashi tried to get up when they entered, but only succeeded in knocking his feet back to the floor. He tried to pass it off as nonchalantly as he could, but judging from Sakura's slight frown, he had failed. She made her way over to him immediately and placed her hand to his forehead without asking.

"You're too warm," she stated, "Are you feeling okay, sensei?"

Kakashi ducked out underneath her hand and rolled his chair back a little. "Tired, but otherwise okay," He lied. A constant ache seemed to drone through his bones by now, but he didn't want to bother them with it.

"I want to take a look at the seal again," Sakura said, "Would you mind taking off your shirt and jacket?"

Oh, right. Like _that_ wasn't awkward. Kakashi tried not to show the discomfort he felt, but he could already see Naruto shifting uneasily from the corner of his eye. Medical examinations were bad enough _without_ an audience. Kakashi sighed and pushed his coat and vest off of his shoulders before divesting himself of his shirt. He kept the undershirt and mask on, choosing to just lift it up instead of taking it all off. The air felt very stuffy all of a sudden, and he looked away, not wanting to meet his students' eyes.

If Sakura felt awkward about it, she didn't show it. She pushed a minute amount of chakra into the seal, and Kakashi bent his head to see it light up.

Sakura frowned. "Tsunade-shishou modified it. Why?"

Kakashi sighed. "I _was_ going to tell you-"

"_Sensei-_" Sakura pulled away and crossed her arms over her chest. Kakashi dropped his shirt back into place and quickly dressed, finding comfort in the safety of wearing a few layers. It was much easier to look at his students again, too.

"Tsunade adjusted it this morning, after I... after I lost consciousness for a bit," he admitted, and quickly continued, "I'm alright, she fixed it, but the original seal dissipated a bit sooner than we'd expected." He shrugged.

"You were knocked out?" Naruto said, looking pale. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Kakashi briefly gave in to his exhaustion and ran his hands over his face. "Look," he said, his voice muffled briefly, "I could give you an update on my condition every hour, but it wouldn't make a difference. It's only relevant for Sakura and Tsunade, who are medics. Tsunade knows about this and would have probably shared that knowledge with you, Sakura. But here's the thing. I am dying."

He leaned forward, planting his elbows on the desk. He felt weary and old, but where there had been fear before, there was now acceptance. Whatever would happen, would happen. He looked up at his students. A muscle jumped in Sasuke's jaw and the fingers of his good hand twitched restlessly. His eyes were worse, though, drilling straight into Kakashi. At his side, Naruto looked painfully young. Only Sakura didn't really react, but then she knew the truth better than anyone. Whether she liked it or not, she, unlike the boys, knew what would happen if they didn't find an antidote. She'd probably lost plenty of patients in similar ways.

Kakashi pressed on. "I am dying, and you guys already know this. I haven't given up, by no means, but here's the thing; without Fox, I'm not going to get better. So _please_\- unless you're my physician, give me some room to breathe. I will let you know about the important stuff, I promise. But we have bigger things to worry about right now."

It spoke well of their familiarity with each other that he could be so open with them. These kids were his _family_, in every way that counted, but he couldn't cope with the obsessive concern. They meant well and it made him feel things he couldn't really express, but at the same time their concern felt cloying, as prolonged social contact often felt to him. When people started to care too much or get too involved, he always felt the urge to get out. If he had a little bit more room to himself, perhaps he could _think_ again.

When Naruto looked about ready to protest, Kakashi raised a finger to silence him. "Finally, I'm not some delicate flower either. The seal will keep me safe, and while it's active I am still a capable ninja, even without my Sharingan. I could still think of a thousand different ways to kill a man!"

He forced a smile and relished the slightly queasy look that appeared on Naruto and Sakura's faces. Sasuke, however, was as unimpressed as always. Perhaps _that's_ why Kakashi subconsciously favored his other two students, Kakashi thought gloomily. Students who refused to laugh at lame jokes were no good, particularly when it would really improve Kakashi's mood if they did.

"Kakashi-sensei, that's really not something to boast about," Naruto moaned, "You give me the creeps."

"Mahh, mahh, I just wanted to remind you all that I _am _still a jounin!"

"And former ROOT," Sasuke cut in unexpectedly. "Did they teach you those thousand ways to kill there?" He added sharply.

Kakashi's smile faded. He'd been expecting this. "Sasuke, if you want to talk to me about something-"

"How could you be a part of ROOT? Why the hell would you follow _that man-_" Sasuke cut himself off abruptly and looked away, obviously trying and failing to control his emotions. He was breathing faster than he should.

Kakashi sighed. "Naruto, Sakura, perhaps you two could give us a moment...? You might go and see how Sai is doing."

Naruto opened his mouth to protest but Sakura, her worried eyes still on Sasuke, took him by the arm and led him out of the room.

Sasuke was still glowering. His chakra felt agitated and spiked every now and then. Kakashi expected that if Sasuke were to turn back to him, his Sharingan would be activated.

"Sasuke... What I told you earlier was the truth. Danzou lured me in with false promises. He manipulated me into thinking Sandaime-sama was somehow responsible for the losses I'd suffered. I was a kid, and I was angry. I believed him." Kakashi sighed and leaned back into his chair. "I think you already know this, Sasuke, but grief can blind a man to a lot of things. Including who to trust."

Sasuke's head dropped, dark bangs falling over his eyes. His fists were clenched at his sides.

"Sasuke, why did you come back to the village?" Kakashi asked slowly.

Sasuke wouldn't meet his eyes, but his chakra flow was steadying slowly. When he finally spoke, it wasn't an answer to Kakashi's question. "When we were in ROOT HQ... You weren't wearing a mask. You were disguised, but without a mask. I've seen your face, and there's nothing wrong with it. Why hide it?"

Kakashi blinked. "I'm not sure I follow-"

"You told me once you'd lost everyone you ever loved. That you _understood_ me." Sasuke said quietly. "So... if that's true. Do you wear that mask to keep people away?"

Kakashi let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. This was more emotional honesty than he'd ever heard from Sasuke. Perhaps the whole 'dying-of-poison' thing had something going for it, after all. If he ignored the whole dying bit, of course. "I...suppose. Maybe. Sometimes. Why do you ask?"

"Because travelling does that for me. I get to stay away- I don't have to _think_\- Naruto and Sakura are so... _good_. I'm not. I will never be. If you really are the same as me, then you understand. But... I want to protect them. And... you're a part of Team 7, too. I don't want-"

Sasuke briefly looked up, and his mismatched eyes met Kakashi's astonished ones. "I don't want you dead. You... are the same as me, but you didn't leave. You didn't betray anyone. I want to know what makes you different from me."

Kakashi felt his heart break a little for the young man standing in front of him. How brave Sasuke was, to be so open now, after everything. And how ironic, that he should look to _Kakashi_ for answers. Kakashi, who couldn't even answer his own questions.

"You had someone to blame for your loss," Kakashi said quietly, "I only had the long dead to accuse."

Sasuke finally met his eyes, and there was a vulnerability in his expression that tore at Kakashi's heart. It was only there for a moment, and then Sasuke's walls slammed down again and it disappeared. He nodded curtly, dark hair bobbing around his face, then went towards the door. "I'm going back to ROOT HQ's ruins," He said quietly over his shoulder. "I'll come back later."

Kakashi sighed. "Very well. Be careful, Sasuke."

Sasuke paused briefly, nodded in acknowledgement, and disappeared.

* * *

Tsunade stared at the diagram in front of her. When Shizune, Sakura, and she had worked on the original poison-blocking seal, they'd made sure to log every step of their process. Diligence was one of the most important traits a medic should have, particularly when it came to the development of new techniques or the testing of theories.

The seal had been a stroke of genius, Tsunade had to admit. Sakura had come up with it after a particularly frustrating case where a young man had created his own poison and accidentally poisoned himself before he could make an antidote as well. The boy had almost died, and Sakura had spent hours upon hours studying and trying to save him. Tsunade still remembered how exhausted the girl had been, even on that eventful morning where she had burst into Tsunade's private quarters and started shouting about her revolutionary idea.

After that, they'd consulted a number of sealing specialists, and with their help as well as Shizune's, they'd eventually developed the seal. The boy's life had been prolonged for long enough for Sakura to find a cure, although his eyesight had never quite recovered. He had taken a teaching job in the Academy and found himself quite happy in his new position. He'd even worked up the courage to ask Sakura out for a few dates, and although it hadn't turned into anything in the end, Sakura had been so proud of herself and so pleased to have saved his life, that it didn't really matter.

Now though, Tsunade worried that even a seal like this wouldn't be strong enough. She looked at the diagram of the seal Sakura had placed on Kakashi, then sketched the adjustments she had made to it this morning. A simple horse seal trigram combined with a _chi_ character, intended to slow the flow of the poison in the same way one would ordinarily slow chakra. A little trick Jiraiya had taught her, many years ago. It would slow the poison further, but it wasn't a long-term solution.

No, for that, Tsunade would have to take it even further. She frowned, and considered Fox again. At a guess, he was about as likely to let Kakashi go as she was to win the lottery. Hell, knowing her luck, she probably _would_ win the lottery if Fox ended up killing Kakashi.

No, what she needed to do was think outside the box, like Sakura had when she had first come up with the idea of creating a seal. Tsunade tapped one finger on her desk before taking a long drag from her cup of saké.

What she needed was a seals expert.

She flared her chakra, and a moment later Shizune appeared. "Tsunade-sama? What is it?"

"Shizune, please get me Uzumaki Karin. I have a favor to ask of her."

* * *

**AN**

**DID YOU KNOW there is a Naruto stage play and that the guy who plays Kakashi is more gorgeous than any human being has a right to be? Just google 'Yuki Kimisawa' and join me in kakashi hell**

**What did you think of this chapter, or the previous one? Where do you think it will go next? Who do you think Fox is? On a completely different note, do you think the story's summary is appealing enough? Or could it be stronger?**

**To the people who leave guest reviews, please be aware I can't answer your questions except in-chapter, and as I don't want to clog up the author section any further than I already do, I usually won't answer. That said, your reviews are appreciated, thank you for responding!**


	18. The Fox and the Hound

**Chapter 18. The Fox and the Hound**

_We built this snare poachers  
that we are. With wire from  
Our fences and stone from the  
Land. _

Extract from _Caught in Our Own Snare_ by Sarah Mkhonza._  
_

* * *

Sasuke's boot scuffed the edge of an old ANBU mask as he passed through what remained of ROOT HQ. Most of the unexplored parts had been destroyed, as far as he could tell, leaving only the empty hallways and old private quarters.

With his Rinnegan and Sharingan both activated, the world underground was not the dusty, colourless place Naruto had seen. Instead it was a kaleidoscope of colours, chakra still threaded through the very fabric of the building as though it had once been alive.

In a way, Sasuke supposed it had been. Most of the seals protecting ROOT HQ had worn down or had been deactivated after Danzo's death, but a few still remained. They were easy to bypass, though; even if one went off, all he had to do was use the Rinnegan's skill and switch places with a nearby pebble.

The irony that one of his most advanced techniques was essentially _Kawarimi_ magnified hadn't escaped Sasuke, but he preferred not to dwell on it.

As he wandered through ROOT HQ, old anger swelled up and only seemed to grow in size. Konoha. The village of liars and cheats. The home of ROOT HQ, and the likes of Shimura Danzou. The village that had destroyed the Uchiha clan once and for all.

Sasuke was no fool. The chances of rebuilding a clan with only one living pureblood member were close to nil. Even if he had children and they had children of their own, it would take ages for the family to grow to the size of a clan and the blood would be diluted significantly. Sometimes, he wondered whether that had been Itachi's intention, too.

He looked around and tried to picture Kakashi running through these hallways. A younger Kakashi, perhaps. Smaller, slighter. Still with the Sharingan, perhaps, glowing red in these dark tunnels. A younger Kakashi, fooled by Shimura Danzou, but somehow still alive in spite of it.

Sasuke didn't always see eye to eye with Kakashi, but he knew they had at least one thing in common: they were both survivors.

Sasuke'd said too much earlier. He'd revealed too many of his feelings. Part of him felt ashamed, but he couldn't quite bring himself to regret it.

_"You had someone to blame for your loss. I only had the long dead to accuse."_

Another thing he knew about Kakashi, was that Kakashi had never lied to him once.

That had to count for something- or did hiding truths count as lying, too?

Sasuke considered Itachi, always lying, always _pretending_, and decided that it did.

Sometimes, it was hard to believe in a team that he knew so little about. Why had Kakashi had the Sharingan? Why had he been ROOT? Who else had he lost, and how, and why, and-

How could Sasuke trust someone he knew so little about? Someone who wouldn't even show his own face, a face that was perfectly acceptable- perhaps _more_ than acceptable, if he was honest with himself- someone who would strike out on his own and tell no one even though there was a threat to his life.

Naruto had told him, of course.

Sasuke could understand Kakashi wanting to get away. He probably would have done the same. But by now, Sasuke had learned to doubt his own judgment, his own choices. Doing something he would have done wasn't necessarily a good thing. His team was supposed to be _better._

Kakashi was supposed to be what Sasuke _could_ have been, not what he was- right?

Or maybe Kakashi was every bit as ordinary as he had seemed, when Sasuke had first met him. Nothing remarkable. Nothing special, like Naruto. Not a hero who'd taken the high road. Just... a man who'd made different choices.

Maybe Sasuke... could still _choose_ who he wanted to be. The atoner, or... maybe something different altogether.

He walked through another hallway, already knowing he would find nothing, and briefly tried to picture his brother as he remembered him- that gentle, teasing boy who'd been his greatest hero- skipping over these tiles.

And as he usually did when he pondered a difficult questions, he asked himself what Itachi would have done.

* * *

By the time dusk finally set in, Kakashi was pretty sure he'd just had one of the longest days of his life. There hadn't been a lot of time for investigating any further, in the end. Placating the people and taking care of the victims had been more important.

In the end, it had been Sakura who'd sent him home. After their meeting Sakura, Naruto and Kakashi had returned to the ruins of ROOT to help out. He'd managed to keep out of Sakura's sight for most of the afternoon, knowing full well she didn't want him to over-exert himself, but his attempts had proved for naught when he'd turned a corner and found her there in front of him, arms crossed over her chest and one foot tapping angrily.

He'd decided the best thing for his health would be _not_ to be beaten up by an angry adolescent, so he'd beaten a hasty retreat back to the Hokage Tower.

Truth be told, it had probably been a good move. He was exhausted. Every time he thought he knew exhaustion, something came up to show him there was always another, deeper level.

The renewed seal helped with the pain, at least. It was very manageable now, only present as a dull thrum somewhere in the background, easily ignored or repressed altogether.

He took a long shower to get rid of all the dust and dried blood caked on his skin, before making his way over to his bed. For once, he was grateful for its ridiculously soft pillows- the ones he'd, admittedly, almost thrown out on his first night here, but they'd been gifts from Sakura, so _hey_. It was usually healthier not to throw Sakura's gifts out.

Naruto's gifts were much easier to handle, but right now Kakashi couldn't bring himself to get out of bed and water the plans in his window sill. One for each year Naruto had known him, minus the two where he'd been travelling with Jiraiya. All of them cactuses, as if Naruto didn't think Kakashi could take care of anything more complicated.

Well.

He was probably right about that. Tenzou sprung to mind. Most complicated plant yet.

He snorted at his own joke, and then decided he was well and truly becoming old if he had allowed his standards to lower so drastically. What was it Naruto called them again? _Dad-_jokes? Or were those something else...? He wasn't even anyone's _dad_, for crying out loud.

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. The bed really _was_ awfully comfortable after a long day's work, and it wasn't long before he could feel himself slowly sinking into a deep slumber.

Finely honed instinct woke him up.

Senses screaming, Kakashi slowly reached for the _kunai_ he kept in his nightstand. Someone was in the apartment. Someone who, judging by his smell, had no right to be there. Cinnamon, with a hint of mint tea. Not anyone Kakashi knew, then.

Which meant trouble.

His heartbeat picked up immediately, pumping blood through his system until he could hear it rushing through his ears. He shifted carefully under the blankets and tensed his muscles, rearing to go.

"Wakey, wakey," A strange voice sang softly.

Kakashi sprung up from where he was lying and flung his _kunai_ straight at the strange man standing in the middle of his room. White mask, hood and cloak- not ANBU, _Fox_.

Fox's body jerked a little when the kunai entered his left shoulder. "Well. That's rude." He said.

Kakashi cursed. Damn sleep deprivation. Damn being in a weakened state. That should have gone through his _heart_.

Fox seemed entirely unconcerned by the Kunai. He inspected it briefly, then gave it a gentle tap. "I suppose I'll leave it where it is for a moment. Wouldn't want to bleed all over your floor." He spread his hand to the side. The left one, the one with the injured shoulder, only twitched.

From where he was perched on the bed, Kakashi could make out enough of the figure to see him shift uneasily.

"I _thought_ we could have a nice chat, but it seems I'm not welcome here. But then I suppose it is a bit rude to enter someone's bedroom unannounced," Fox raised his gloved hands, as if he were calming an excited child rather than speaking to a hostile Hokage, "Don't you worry, I'm not propositioning you, or anything!"

Kakashi didn't hesitate. He leaped of the bed and rushed for Fox, aiming a kick at the protruding kunai.

Fox leapt backwards and skipped out of the room, immediately turning a corner once he was outside so Kakashi had to double back and follow him when he slipped through the door.

Kakashi growled and forced his tired body through a flurry of movement, muscle memory taking over and allowing him to land several hits on Fox's body- but most of them were deflected. Fox almost seemed to dance through the motions, flitting from left to right or turning Kakashi's hands away with open palmed strikes.

Kakashi jumped up and tried a roundhouse kick, rotating around fast to up the power. His foot glanced the kunai as Fox jumped back, and _finally_, Fox hissed in pain. He was human after all. That made him mortal. _Good_.

For a moment, they faced each other silently. Kakashi ran several strategies through his mind before reaching out with his chakra towards the ceiling. His ANBU guards were silent. Strange. They should have interfered by now.

Fox took advantage of the short break to look around Kakashi's apartment, and pointed at the ceiling. "Don't worry about your ANBU detail. It'll take them a while to figure out they're caught in a genjutsu, but they'll survive. Of course, if they discover it too quickly my men will have to step in and dispatch them."

On the edges of Kakashi's awareness, a second chakra signal shimmered slightly. Kakashi's jaw clenched. "What do you want?"

There were too many damn windows in his apartment. Add to that at least two doors, and it made for far too many exit routes. Kakashi could make clones to block them like he had with Kabuto, all those years ago, but right now he didn't trust himself to have enough focus to keep more than one alive. So what were his options?

And more importantly, how powerful was Fox?

There was another option. He'd have to patient, but it could work. There were protective seals all around him, intended to collapse the floor and protect against attackers, should it be necessary. It was rigged to go off the moment the Hokage was at a safe distance, but it could be played differently- if the Hokage in question had a way to get out alive anyway.

Besides, it would be rather gratifying to give Fox a taste of his own medicine.

As subtly as he could, he pulled away two different threads of chakra from his core and began to mold them. It was hard to focus on both of them at once while still listening to Fox, but the second thread required less focus and would only be completed once he used a hand seal. That one could wait until the last moment.

He pushed the other thread of chakra into the floor, probing through concrete and isolation material before he found what he was looking for; the edges of a seal. It had been made with his own chakra, so it responded easily and eagerly. Almost _too_ eagerly- he didn't want to risk setting if off too early.

"What do I want? Why, you might as well have asked 'who are you'," Fox chuckled softly. He had an infectious laugh; bright and sincere. "But I suppose I can tell you a little bit. I want Konoha to change. I want the seat of Hokage destroyed. I want it to be impossible to turn children into warriors and veterans into empty husks of themselves. I want our enemies to pay for the lives they took, and I want the 'Great Alliance' to break into a thousand little pieces." Fox's voice grew stronger with every word, and almost broke on the last one. His chakra grew erratic with emotion, but just as Kakashi expected him to burst into attack, Fox relaxed again.

Fox took a deep, calculated breath, and forcibly pushed his chakra down again. "That's what I want, Hatake Kakashi. I was hoping you might give it to me." He said, eerily calm once again.

Kakashi studied the other man quietly. Moonlight fell through the windows and cast harsh shadows on Fox's simple painted mask. He looked like a Yokai of legend, come to whisk away the innocent.

"Is that what Ox wanted too, then?" Kakashi asked, thinking briefly of Ox's last moments.

"Yes." Fox's head sagged a little. "A... shame, that he had to die for it. But he believed in our cause."

"He told me you were planning to disgrace me."

"Heh, well. That's a part of it. What can I say? I'm ambitious." Fox lilted. "That said, it's a bit arrogant of you, don't you think? Making this all about you."

Kakashi ignored the jab and pushed through. "What you want... It's not so different from what we're fighting for. Raising the age of Academy graduation is something we've been trying to get approved for a while, now. We've already banned graduation under the age of twelve-"

"And is that enough, then? Is a twelve-year old not also a child? Did that pink student of yours not still play with dolls when you first killed someone in front of her? Did your Jinchuuriki brat not still sleep with plush animals?" Fox bit out, "Had _you_ not barely learned how to _write_ when you became a genin?"

Kakashi winced and blurted out a reply before he could stop himself. "I was different, I was-"

Fox laughed sharply, and for a moment Kakashi could only stare at him.

"You really believe that?" Fox barked out, "That it was _okay_ because you were a genius? That it was _okay_ that your _beloved_ daddy made his _five_ year old son go out and face life and death situations? That you ended up in a hospital, what, three times? Four?"

Kakashi's breath caught and his stomach clenched uncomfortably. He could still remember his first battlefield, even today. The cloying smell of blood and decay in his nostrils had made him queasy for days. The sightless eyes of Konoha's enemies had haunted his dreams for far longer.

"No," He said quietly, "I don't think it was okay. But it's not going to happen to anyone ever again."

What _had_ Sakumo thought of it, anyway? Had he protested? Had he...? Had he tried?

He pushed those thoughts down. He couldn't let Fox get to him. Not again. But even as he thought that, something else was starting to nag at him. Something about Fox...

"Says you," Fox sneered, "and maybe it won't, under your reign. But who's to say your successor won't change it back? Or, more likely, _his_ successor? That generation won't remember what it was like, you know. They won't remember fighting on the battlefield with the _great_ Uzumaki Naruto. They won't remember that they're supposed to _like _the other villages. _They_ know the other villages killed their grandparents, their aunts, their uncles. They'll go back to fighting each other in a heartbeat."

"I know," Kakashi said, simply.

This actually seemed to surprise Fox. "You know? You _know?"_

"What do you take me for?" Kakashi sighed a little. "I'm not the optimist Naruto is. I know this peace we have now is fragile, but we have to _try_."

Fox cut a hand through the air as if he was trying to strike the idea down. "No. What we _should_ do is bring change to this world. Without change- What, do you really expect them all to go hand-in-hand forever, singing songs about how wonderful Naruto is for the rest of eternity?"

Kakashi kept his breathing as calm as he could. He had to keep the threads thin enough that they wouldn't be detected, but not so thin that they would break the moment he channelled more chakra through them. "No. And neither do some of my fellow Kage. Which is why we're making provisions-"

"Oh _yes_, I heard about your little pet project. What was it again, some kind of friendly exchange programme where all the villages have to work together and be friends? Teaching everyone to save their friends even if it costs them the mission?" Fox sing-songed, "Because that turned out _so_ well for your family in the past."

Kakashi shook his head. That hunch he'd had a moment ago had returned, and this time he decided to explore it. "How did you know?" He said, choosing to ignore Fox's taunt again.

"Know what?"

_About my father. About my graduation age. How often I was hospitalized. Those documents are classified. Sure, there's the rumor mill, but even they don't know everything._ _Unless you're part of staff and have access to them._

Only a few people had had access to all the details over the years. Minato-sensei, his superiors in ANBU, the Hokage, and a psych evaluation team. ANBU seemed like a logical call- if Fox was one of his old superiors, it would explain a lot.

"How did you know I was going to meet the Daimyo?" He asked instead.

Fox tilted his head a little. "Well. It wasn't exactly a _secret_. There were parades. Pompous nonsense designed to idolize a cold-blooded killer."

Ha. So it had been him in the palace, and not some imposter. He'd _been _there. He really had attacked Kakashi.

"Why Obito? Why did you choose that face?" He asked, pressing onwards.

Fox didn't flinch.

"Isn't Uchiha Obito the perfect example of everything that is wrong with the Shinobi world?" He retorted, "The boy turned monster? It's a more common story than you'd think. It's just that very few of those boys tried to destroy the world and very nearly succeeded. Of course, it had the benefit of scaring the pants off of you,"

Kakashi could almost hear the grin in Fox's voice. "You used him as a symbol? I find that hard to believe," He tried, "It seemed rather more personal than that."

"Like I said. Scared you half to death."

"No... There's more to it than that..." Chakra slotted into place below him. He was ready to go, and he had a feeling he'd finished just in time. Fox was starting to grow edgy again, shifting nervously on his feet and his chakra growing more restless.

"Why are you here?" Kakashi asked, before Fox could get another word in. "You don't seem like the type to gloat-" Okay, scratch that, he'd hung two bodies from the Hokage mountain just to show that he could "- but I'm already dying, so..."

Fox tilted his head again and shrugged theatrically. "I suppose I came here to warn you. I know you've sent out your little spies. I've seen them crawling around," he curled his fingers to mimic someone walking, "but I assure you. I've had a _long_ time to plan this out. And I _will_ get what I want."

With that, he flung out his hand, and with it a strange rush of chakra-

The first thread of Kakashi's chakra snapped into place and the second rushed outward through his body towards his skin. Thinking of Kakuzu, earth seals, and cold, hard, stone, Kakashi barely even noticed when the floor dropped out from underneath him, or that the ceiling came roaring down to meet them.

* * *

On the other side of Konoha, Sai's body came up gasping.

Ino, who'd been sitting on the chair next to his bed, leapt up to grab his hand. "Sai! How- are you okay?"

Sai stared ahead with a strange expression on his face; a mixture of what she'd almost describe as awe, satisfaction, and something she couldn't put a finger on. After a moment he blinked and turned towards her.

"Yes. I'm fine, now. I think.. I think I'm back."

And with that, he gave her a wide, satisfied grin.

* * *

For the second time within 24 hours, Konoha was rudely awakened by the sound of a collapsing building.

Naruto was immediately on high alert. Kurama instinctively wrapped his chakra around Naruto's body, feeding him and improving his senses. The sound had come from nearby- had another part of the building collapsed? Was Sasuke okay? He was down there-

_Kid, to your left!_ Kurama roared.

At his side, Sakura gasped.

Naruto followed her gaze and was just in time to watch the Hokage Residence's top floor collapse. It went down with an almighty groan and a rush of familiar chakra- _Kakashi_'s chakra. Naruto was at the foot of the residence before he even fully realized what he was doing.

It was one thing to have a demon inside of you. It was another thing entirely to have that demon's chakra teleport you about without warning. On this occasion, though, he'd forgive the old furball gladly. Gluing chakra to his feet, he ran up the one remaining floor.

On his way up, he almost ran straight into a startled ANBU agent, who came falling down from the tower. Naruto caught him easily and tossed him in the direction of the adjacent tower with a rush of anger. How the hell that this happened? How the hell had _ANBU allowed it to happen?_

First things first, though. Kakashi's chakra was still very much alive and sparking. Naruto wasn't sure _how_ he'd done it, but Kakashi was in there somewhere, underneath all the rubble.

Nonetheless, Naruto's heart thumped loudly against his ribcage. What if he'd been hurt? What if he was already mortally wounded? What if-

_Kid. It's okay, _Kurama chuckled. _He's fine_. _Trust me_.

As if on cue, an arm broke through the debris and clawed its way to the top. It was coloured a deep charcoal grey, its surface smooth and unbroken. A moment later a head of silver hair came through as well, a masked face covered in that same strange charcoal colour, and then Kakashi-sensei managed to free his shoulders.

Heaving a relieved sigh, Naruto jogged over to his former teacher and hauled him the rest of the way out. Kakashi's skin felt warm to the touch, but it was hard- more like stone than human flesh, and his breath caught. "What...?"

Kakashi chuckled. "Something I picked up from an old Akatsuki pal," He said, as if that explained anything.

As Naruto watched, the strange black surface quickly retreated and was replaced by pale skin once more. Kakashi shook his head to free his hair of dust and debris.

"Naruto, can you sense another chakra signal in here?" Kakashi asked. As if he hadn't just climbed out of his own completely ruined house wearing granite for skin with enough casual nonchalance that he might as well have been grocery shopping.

"Uhhh- no." Naruto was aware that he was gaping, and clicked his jaw shut. "No one else."

_There was, just a moment ago, but it flickered out. Died, probably_, Kurama provided.

Naruto squinted a little. "I hope that wasn't one of those ANBU guys..." He trailed off.

"So... is that a yes?" Kakashi tilted his head a little as if he was confused, but for all Kakashi's nonchalance his chakra felt aggravated and harried. Something was wrong, after all.

"Kurama says someone died down there, just now."

With his chakra cloak still on, Naruto could feel the dramatic dip in Kakashi's mood as easily as if the man had shouted his despair off the rooftops. Gasping a little he instinctively stepped forward to help Kakashi, but the older man brushed him off.

"Fox- Fox was here, he- if I killed him-" Kakashi cut himself off, but he'd said enough.

Shaping his chakra into powerful claws, Naruto began to dig furiously. As he did so a group of very confused ANBU joined them. One of them, a medic, automatically made her way over to Kakashi-sensei to check him for injuries, but he brushed her off with a quick, "I'm fine."

It took Naruto another two hauls or so to lift the last piece of debris- Kakashi's poor, badly mistreated couch- before he found what he was looking for. A mangled body still half-dressed in a dark cloak, the hood thrown backwards and the mask broken to reveal a youthful face.

Naruto swallowed. Could this really have been Fox? He manoeuvred his chakra gently around the body, and lifted it up.

At his side, Kakashi-sensei's mood seemed to somehow simultaneously improve and worsen. "It's not him," he drawled, "he's too young."

Naruto turned nervous eyes on the young face. He couldn't be older than twenty. He still had a few spots. He... looked a little familiar, even.

It came to him after a moment of searching his memory. "He's one of the prison guards. He- he was the one who let us in to imprison Sai, before you turned up."

Kakashi turned to him wearily. "Are you sure?"

"I- yeah. I... don't remember his name." For some reason, he couldn't shake that thought. This young man was dead, and Naruto couldn't even remember his name. He'd seemed nice. Cheerful. And now he was dead.

_Fox must have possessed him too,_ Kurama said, sounding unusually grave. _Hatake's right_. _I didn't get a clear grasp of Fox's chakra back in the Daimyo's palace, but enough to know it was different from this kid's._

Naruto felt tears sting in his eyes as he relayed this information to Kakashi. This kid could have been Sai, or Genma. It could have been any one of them.

"This Fox, whoever he is..." He began quietly, "When I get my hands on him, I... Sensei. Please stop me from killing him if it comes to that."

Kakashi's chakra spiked in surprise. "Naruto-"

"I mean it. _Please_."

"...okay."

In the distance, dawn slowly turned the sky into a range of oranges and pinks. It was beautiful, but Naruto couldn't bring himself to enjoy it.

* * *

**AN:**

**Just in case it wasn't clear, Kakashi used Kakuzu's skin hardening jutsu, which he copied during their fight. Technically the technique is called 'Earth Spear', which makes zero sense. In Japanese, it's Doton: Domu.**

**Thank you for over 200 reviews, 180+ followers and 145 favorites! I never expected as many and am overjoyed by the attention and positive comments the story has gotten. Thank you all for your continued support and patience!**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! By the way, did you spot the near-reference to Naruto Abridged...? LOG! Ah, the good old days :')**

**My schedule will be busy in the upcoming month so I don't know when I will update next- just know that I will!**


	19. Wildfire

**Chapter 19. Wildfire**

* * *

"Sleepover time!" Naruto announced loudly, and threw Kakashi's bag onto the floor of his apartment.

Kakashi, only a few steps behind, sighed. The air in Naruto's room smelled of ramen. Of _course_ it did.

Naruto turned back towards Kakashi with an air of forced cheerfulness. "Y'know, this could be fun! We can hang out and all. Kinda like a slumber party, 'cept we're not kids."

Kakashi, who hadn't attended a slumber party in his life and wasn't entirely sure what it even was, nodded hesitantly. "...Sure, Naruto. Thanks for letting me stay here."-

"Of course! It's just bad luck, isn't it, having two houses of yours destroyed in three years time? Though I guess it was kind of your own fault, this time." Naruto beckoned Kakashi into the room and pointed at a saggy looking couch. It was orange, of course. "You can sleep on there. I'd offer you my bed and all, but you seem to like sleeping on couches."

Kakashi eyed the couch dubiously. He was pretty sure he'd drown in the thick, billowy pillows if he'd actually sit down on it. "You're sure it's no trouble? You've been seeing a lot of Hinata lately..."

"Nahh, nahh," Naruto waved a hand and turned slightly pink, "It's not as if- well, we don't- we haven't really-"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Really? I thought-"

"Nahh. We're taking it slow, that's all." Naruto said, still avoiding Kakashi's eyes, and blushing even more than before.

Kakashi grinned: he saw an opportunity here. "You know, if you're not sure how it works I could always lend you Icha Icha-"

"Gah! Don't make me regret inviting you in already, old man!" Naruto shrieked, looking every bit as flustered as Kakashi hoped.

Kakashi's eyes crinkled. "Mahh mahh, it's okay! Taking it slow is good too. Just remember the offer stands."

Still chuckling, he picked his bag up and placed it next to the couch. It was strange how quickly things could go back to normal after life and death situations. He figured it was all down to experience; he and Naruto weren't exactly strangers to near-death experiences, after all. Perhaps a man could grow a tolerance even for situations like those. First adrenaline would leave the system, and then the mind would catch up and banish the memory of fear and battle.

Still, as he sat down on the couch - or to be more accurate, was swallowed up by it- the eyes of the young guard sprang to mind without warning. Glassy, and utterly terrified. Had the guard been aware of what Fox was doing throughout their conversation? Had he watched as Fox used his body to infiltrate Kakashi's house? Had he known, the moment Kakashi collapsed the building, that he was about to die?

Kakashi took in a deep, deliberate breath through his nose, held it, and let it out in a long sigh to squash the anxiety building up in his stomach. Poor kid. Kakashi would visit the family, when the time was better.

The rich smell of coffee beans entered his nose as Naruto pressed a chipped old mug into Kakashi's hands. Kakashi blinked at it. "Coffee?" He said, genuinely surprised. "I didn't take you for a coffee kind of guy."

Naruto blushed a little. "I've been trying it out. Seems... mature and all, y'know?"

Kakashi smiled. "Oh?"

"I dunno. I guess... I just feel like I can't be a kid forever, you know? After everything that happened in the war..." Naruto sat down next to Kakashi, hands cupped around his own mug and blending in rather nicely with the couch's garish orange fabric. Naruto stretched out his legs, and Kakashi felt a slight jolt of surprise when he saw they were as long as his own. Huh. Little kids grow up fast.

"I'm not sure anyone who experiences war can ever truly be a kid again," Kakashi mused.

Naruto hummed noncommittally. "Is that what it was like, for your team? When you were kids?"He said after a moment.

Kakashi considered it. "I suppose. The circumstances were different. The third war lasted almost a decade, and instead of fighting white Zetsu's and revived comrades, we were fighting other villages. But at its heart, I guess it was the same. Doing battle, people dying..." He sighed.

"Making enemies," Naruto added unexpectedly. "From what you told me, this Fox guy really hates us."

Kakashi had told Naruto about their conversation earlier, when they cleared out the remains of the tower. "Yeah, that too," He sighed. "That's something you're probably going to have to get used to, though."

Naruto burrowed deeper into the couch. "Can't befriend everyone, huh?" He mumbled.

"I'm afraid not."

"It'd be a better world if we could."

Kakashi sighed. "If we were all a little bit more like you-"

His stomach growled. Loudly.

Naruto snorted, and as if on cue his own stomach echoed Kakashi's. "Sounds like we're not that different, to me. Want breakfast?"

"As long as it's not ramen," Kakashi quipped.

Naruto elbowed him. "No knocking ramen, sensei. I've got natto and white rice, that okay?"

"Uhh. Yeah. Is that part of your ploy to be more mature?"

Naruto grinned. "Yup. That, and Hinata thinks I should eat better."

Kakashi hung his head theatrically. "You ignore the diet advice of your poor old sensei, but the moment a pretty girl tells you to do it... Don't I have any authority left?"

Naruto snickered and got up to go to the kitchen. "Not really, no."

A few minutes later, they were both seated at Naruto's table. It was an old thing, with lots of notches and small pen drawings that Naruto must have made when he was younger. Kakashi slowly traced an old doodle with his finger, a reminder of a time when Naruto had been alone. Fox's words echoed through his mind again. They'd been so _young_, hadn't they, his team? When he'd first taken them into battle.

He looked up as Naruto placed the bowl with rice and natto before him. They ate in silence.

Naruto kept his head down and his eyes on his food, giving Kakashi space to eat more calmly. Kakashi smiled to himself. More mature, indeed. He took a bite of his beans.

"It's good," Kakashi said, surprised.

"What were you expecting?" Naruto grinned.

"Well, I was hoping it wouldn't be poisonous..."

Naruto's smile turned into a scowl. "Kaka-sensei... Not cool."

"Too early?"

"Definitely too early." Naruto looked up again, his blue eyes uncharacteristically serious. "Sensei... There's something I want to ask."

"Shoot."

"Why did you try to kill Fox today? I felt what you felt when you thought you'd killed him when the tower collapsed. You were scared.""

Oh. Right.

When he didn't immediately answer, Naruto pressed on. "If Fox dies before he cancels out the poison, you die too. Don't think I forgot about that."

"He's a danger to Konoha. I took the chance when I had it. It's my prime prerogative to protect the village."

Naruto's expression became hard to read. "I get that. It's your job. But it's hard to..." he swallowed visibly, "Look. I can give up my own life for this village, no problem. But it's hard to give up the lives of my friends, you know? Even if it means saving Konoha. If I had the chance to kill Fox right now, I'm not sure I'd be able to take it. No matter what I said earlier..." He trailed off.

He met Kakashi's eyes. "Even when I become Hokage, I'm not sure I'll be able to put my friends on the line. I want to protect everyone. But I can't, can I? Neji, Pervy Sage... My parents... "

Kakashi nodded slowly. For a moment, his thoughts were clouded by his own ghosts. "The way I understand it... The Hokages were often the people who'd lost more loved ones than average. Tsunade-sama lost her boyfriend, her brother, her parents... Your father lost his parents and one of his teammates, Sandaime lost his wife and his student... I could go on. It's..." He hesitated. "I don't know. Maybe loss inspired something in them."

"And you and your team." Naruto added.

Kakashi flinched. "Yes. But I don't think that inspired me in any way. I'm-"

"You're what?"

"I'm the fluke, Naruto." Kakashi finally said. Something heavy weighed down his chest, making it harder to breathe. "You shouldn't ask me these things, because frankly, I don't know the answers either. I was just in the right place at the right time."

Naruto sat back in his chair and looked at Kakashi for a long, long time. "You're wrong. I could tell you all the reasons why, but you'd probably just deflect them. I don't know what Fox's problem with you is, or what _your_ problem with you is, but like I said during the war_. I think you're a great guy. _And you wouldn't be Hokage if the village disagreed." He stabbed his natto with a chopstick a bit more aggressively than necessary. "It'd be nice if you remembered it now and then."

"Self-pity isn't a good colour on me, huh..." Kakashi agreed silently, a bit surprised by Naruto's insight. He squared his shoulders and huffed. "And to think _I'm_ supposed to be the adult here."

Naruto grinned and that weight lifted off of Kakashi's chest again. "Told you. It's the coffee."

Kakashi smiled sheepishly and reached out to ruffle Naruto's hair. _Nahh. That's all you, kid._ _That's you all over. You'll surpass me a thousand times in a thousand different ways._

Naruto slapped his hand away with a fond look, and Kakashi once again reflected on how damn lucky he'd gotten when Sandaime had assigned him Team 7.

"Still, sensei. Do you really think that?" Naruto asked, eyes on his food. "I do remember what you called yourself when we talked to Obito, back in the war."

Kakashi swallowed thickly. He wasn't sure what to say.

"You said you were trash." Naruto said, poking at a bean and still not looking up. "Why would you say that?"

Kakashi looked down at his own bowl. "It's...complicated, Naruto-"

"I don't think it is, actually." Naruto finally looked up, his blue eyes fierce.

"I don't know what you want me to say." Kakashi finally said.

Hurt briefly flickered across Naruto's expression. "I just don't understand you, that's all," he finally murmured.

xXx

"State your name, rank, and intention," the ANBU who blocked Sakura's path droned.

Sakura's jaw twitched. A guard. There was a guard just outside Sai's hospital room, preventing her from entering. Sai was under a guard, which meant he was still a suspect. She peered past him. Room 208, the door said, and just beyond it was her friend, lonely and scared.

She levelled the ANBU with a cold look. "Haruno Sakura, Jounin and senior medic, here to do my job. Now how about you get out of my way?"

The expressionless mask stared back at her for a moment. It wasn't hard to imagine why Nidaime had once settled on this particular design- the blank porcelain and black holes instead of eyes were eerie. She could feel his chakra probing her own, checking to see if it was really her.

Although she couldn't see his eyes, she was pretty sure he was a Hyuuga. The air was crisp due to the low emission of chakra radiating from him, so reminiscent of doing battle with Sasuke, or Kakashi-sensei at her side- a typical sign of activated Doujutsu. Still, Sakura wasn't about to lose in a staring contest. She narrowed her eyes a little, and her hands balled at her sides. He'd be able to tell she really was who she said she was, anyway. He had no right whatsoever to keep her out.

Finally, the ANBU nodded curtly. "Very well, Haruno-san. You may enter."

Sakura brushed past him without saying a word. She knew it wasn't really fair on him, but her friend was in the room just behind her, and he was in distress. She had more important things to worry about.

Sai was the only occupant in the room, and as she had expected someone had shackled him to the bed. Of course that wouldn't be enough to stop a shinobi of Sai's calibre if he really wanted to get out, but it sent across a clear message.

Sai was finally awake, but he didn't look very good. There were dark circles underneath his eyes, and his hair hung limp around his face. He smiled faintly when he saw her, and croaked out, "Hey."

"Hey yourself," Sakura smiled back and took the lone chair at his bedside. "How are you feeling?"

Sai looked down. "I killed Koharu-sama," he whispered.

"Hey, no. None of that." Sakura reached out and carefully placed a hand on his forearm. "You didn't kill her, nor does anyone blame you for it."

"That ANBU guard at the door does," Sai nodded in the ANBU's direction. "As does the one stationed above my window."

Sakura winced. "But _we_ don't. Your team. That matters too, right? You are not to blame for what Fox made you do. You had no choice whatsoever." Sakura said resolutely. "Please don't blame yourself."

"Fox? I- it seemed so surreal. To think he could take me over so completely..."

Sakura's heart broke for Sai. He seemed so small and heartbroken in his hospital bed, and so unlike himself. It was as if Fox had taken one good look at him and punched a hole straight through. "But he's gone now. You don't have to worry about that anymore."

Just then, the ANBU stepped aside to let another person in. It was a nurse, her strawberry blonde hair put up in a tight bun and her brown eyes wary. "Here we are, then. Koharu-sama's murderer, and yet I'm supposed to _take care of you_. It's ridicu-"

The nurse froze in her steps. "But you're the Hokage's-"

"Out," Sakura snapped, getting up from her seat. "Now."

Her stomach dropped. She knew this particular nurse. Hell, she was infamous- everyone knew she was a terrible gossip. A competent nurse, yes, but utterly unreliable. She had been known to share embarrassing stories about injured patients. What on earth was _she _doing, attending to a prisoner?

The nurse stared at Sakura. "Haruno-san, I don't understand. Isn't this Koharu-sama's murderer?"

"I gave you an order, nurse Oda. _Go._"

Oda pulled a face, the skin around her nose wrinkling unpleasantly. "Yes, Haruno-san," She said reluctantly. With that, she spun on her heel and left the room, but not before casting one last look over her shoulder at Sai.

Sakura's heartbeat as racing.

At her side, Sai looked even paler than usual. "People will find out soon. That it was me."

Sakura's jaw clenched. Tempting as it was to march after Oda and order her to shut up about what she'd seen, she knew it was inevitable for people to find out. Sai was in the public hospital- others were bound to see him at some point. Besides, who knew how many had seen Naruto and Sasuke carry him down the mountain after Koharu's death?

Still, the idea that a gossiping, vile nurse would be the one to break the news rankled. Oda would speak without kindness, without nuance. She'd have to let the rest of the team know, too.

Sakura turned back towards Sai and took one of his hands in her own. It was cold and clammy as she softly squeezed it. "It's okay. We'll clear your name."

"You don't know that," Sai looked down again.

The ANBU Guard stepped into the room. "Yamanaka Ino is here."

Sakura glared at him. _And where were you, a moment ago? _ She wished she had the authority to give him a piece of her mind.

Ino rushed into the room without delay. "Oh good, you're both here. I just wanted to- well, check up on you," She said, with an uncharacteristic stutter.

Sai smiled faintly. "I'm quite alright, thank you."

Ino gave him a startled smile. "Oh. That's good. I'm glad."

"Thank you."

"I was going to get you some flowers, but then I remembered your allergies," Ino added.

"How thoughtful."

"Sai, I'm sorry that this happened-"

"If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to get some sleep. Thank you for your kindness, Ino-san."

Sakura gave him a startled look. "Sai, surely-"

"I'm sorry. I'm tired. Please. I'd like to be alone," Sai repeated.

Ino looked like he'd struck her in the face. "Right," she said faintly. "Get well soon."

For a moment, Sakura's emotions warred between protectiveness towards Ino and pity for Sai. In the end, she slowly released Sai's hand and stood. "Just remember, Sai. We're your friends. You can trust us to help you."

Sai stared out of the window, completely expressionless. As Sakura placed an arm around Ino's shoulders and left the room with her, she couldn't help but wonder why she'd seen fear in Sai's eyes when Ino had entered the room.

xXx

"Kakashi! Oi! Open up! Kakashiiii!"

In between the loud rapping on Naruto's door, booming voice and obnoxiously bright chakra signal, it didn't take Kakashi very long to put two and two together. He sighed. "Naruto, Gai is here. I _think _he wants to come in."

So much for peacefully reading through the interviews Yamato had conducted with former ROOT members. Once Gai arrived somewhere, the atmosphere had a habit of turning rowdy and loud. Not exactly conductive to studying, all things considered.

"Kakashiii- Oh, hello Naruto. I wasn't expecting you," came Gai's muffled voice through the hallway.

"This is _my apartment."_

"Yeah, right! How terribly wonderful and generous of you to offer shelter to my poor displaced rival! Oh! My heart constricts thinking of the wonderful bond between teacher and student-"

Kakashi took pity on Naruto and got up from the couch. "I'm through here, Gai."

Gai paused his tirade mid-way through and wheeled into the room, determinedly avoiding the many pieces of clothing still littering the floor- apparently, Naruto didn't believe hampers- before coming to a stop in front of Kakashi.

"Kakashi, is it true?" Gai's eyes took on that particular glossy misty-eyed look that foretold a rib-crushing hug and a tear-stained shoulder.

"Ah.. Is what true?"

"Is it true Sai killed Koharu-sama?" Gai gave Kakashi an imploring look.

Kakashi froze. _And on that bombshell..._ "Gai... How do you know about that?"

Gai took a moment to look guilty. "It's all over the village. At first I thought it was just the grapevine, but the rumours sounded so convincing-"

Kakashi tried to ignore the awful feeling of worry suddenly gnawing at him. If people knew it had been Sai, he was in trouble. He glanced at Naruto, who seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"Ahh, Bushy-brows sensei, please make yourself at home!" Naruto said in a rather obvious attempt at changing the subject, "Sai is... well, it's more complicated than they make it out to be, I'm sure..."

Gai's expression turned grave. "I've done my research. I went to visit Genma in the hospital, and he refused to tell me why he was in there in the first place. Kakashi, Naruto... is it related to Fox and Sai?"

"There is no 'Fox and Sai'!" Naruto argued, "Fox took over his mind or something, and made him do it! Sai is innocent, I swear- he'd never hurt someone from the village!"

"Mahh, mahh... I suppose we can tell you. You already know the first half of the story, anyway. I can trust you not to tell anyone, right?" Kakashi relented. He couldn't help but feel strengthened by his friend's involvement. Still, though... "After that, you can tell me about how you were illegally researching a case you have nothing to do with, Jounin-san." He raised a stern eyebrow and tried not to feel _too_ awkward about pulling rank on his best friend.

Gai was either unimpressed, or missed the reproach altogether. "Of course! I want to help, and to help I need to know what's going on. Please explain it to me. I will guard your secrets with my life."

Kakashi sighed. He didn't doubt it. Settling back on the couch, he began to detail his suspicions and what they knew of Fox and his abilities. When Kakashi told Gai about how Fox had possessed Genma and Sai into attacking allies, Gai blinked and sat back.

"Like the Yamanaka Mind Switch jutsu?" He asked.

"Well, yes- except all the Yamanaka are accounted for," Kakashi ran a hand through his hair. "I considered it, but Ino talked to all of them-"

"What if they're lying?"

"What if they're not? Gai, they can read each other's minds. How would they lie to one of their own?" Kakashi said, feeling frustrated.

"Well, could someone else have learned their techniques? Perhaps this Fuu from ROOT taught a comrade?" Gai offered, folding his hands in front of him in a remarkable imitation of the TV judge Kakashi knew his friend liked to watch on television.

Kakashi resisted the urge to laugh at the image. Gai would make a _fantastic_ television judge. Ratings would skyrocket. "Maybe. But not to this extent. Yamanaka have to start learning at an early age just to come close to mastering it. But I've been thinking about sending a message to the other Kage to ask them whether they know of any clans or shinobi with similar techniques."

"Why are you so insistent it's not a Yamanaka?" Gai leaned back into his chair, folding his arms over his chest. "I know it's unpleasant to think it could be someone from Konoha-"

"But it _is_ someone from Konoha. We already know that," Naruto interrupted him.

"Naruto is right. However, have you ever known a Yamanaka to control another person without being in walking distance of them?" Kakashi countered. "There's rules to every set of jutsu. If Fox were a Yamanaka, he'd be breaking every last one of them."

He ran his hands over his face. "At the same time, I can't really exclude the possibility either. Fox should have called himself 'ghost', because that's honestly what it's starting to feel like."

He sat there for a moment with his face in his hands, neither of the others speaking.

"Well, a ghost wants to scare people, right? That's what they're good at. And isn't that why Fox came to your apartment this morning?" Gai's brow furrowed in the way it often did when he thought he was on to something.

"Well, how can you catch a ghost?" Naruto slumped in his seat. "It was obvious with Obito 'cause of the whole Sharingan thing, but we don't have that now."

"No, we didn't use Sharingan, we just used deception-" Kakashi stilled. "Hang on. Fox was at the Daimyo's palace. He attacked me to get me to use my chakra and activate the poison. I'm sure it was him, otherwise he wouldn't have bothered with the genjutsu to make himself look like Obito. The thing is though, he wouldn't have attacked me if he'd known the poison was already active. Which means Sai acting as a decoy worked."

"So?" Naruto raised his eyebrow.

"So if he was nearby, he couldn't tell the difference between our chakra signatures," Kakashi went on. For the first time in days, he felt a spark of excitement.

Gai blinked. "He's not a sensor, then. So... how can we use that against him?"

Kakashi smiled at his co-conspirators. "First of all, it's a long-term plan. Next, we're going to need someone with a lot of chakra and a knack for sensing emotion..."

Sometime later, Kakashi went to Naruto's small balcony and waited for Tenzou and Yuugao to appear. He nodded at them and listened quietly as they gave out their reports of the day. When they were done, Kakashi gave them his own orders.

"Tenzou, I need objective intel regarding the Yamanaka clan. Get Morino Ibiki and your own intel gatherers, and find out what you can. If any Yamanaka have even a small link to ANBU, I want you to find out about it. As for you, Yuugao, I want you to find out who has access to classified medical files as well as psychological evaluations. Specifically, mine. Find out who has looked at them in the past few years and compile a list."

xXx

The fire was first lit by the nurse, just as Sakura had feared. By the time she went home from her shift feeling the satisfaction of a hard day's work, several of her patients had already talked to their friends about the traitor in room 208. As evening slowly fell and shinobi and civilians alike went home to their families or out with their friends, the spark turned into flame.

Before long, most of Konoha knew one thing to be true: the council was dead, and the Hokage's once trusted teammate Sai was their murderer.

**AN:**

**Happy new year 3 Thank you for sticking by me, I hope you have a great 2017!**

**I've plotted out the rest of the story and estimate there will be another 6 or so chapters, putting the total at 25. This number is not set in stone, though. What did you think of this chapter? What do you think Kakashi's plan will be, and do you have any idea who Fox might be?**

**One wonderful reader, Kelakair, has started to translate the story to Chinese! You can find it on Lofter, where their account is ururu293. A big applause for Kelakair :D**

**Finally, although I feel like I shouldn't have to say this I wanted to reiterate that it's only been four or so days since Kakashi was poisoned. It's not that Tsunade and Sakura are incapable of finding a cure, it's just that they're working with **_**very **_** little under very high pressure. The only way to get a sample of the poison is to endanger Kakashi's life, and without a sample there isn't a lot they can do. That said they're geniuses in their field, so perhaps it's only a matter of time...**


	20. Down the Rabbit Hole

**Chapter 20. Down the Rabbit Hole**

* * *

If there was one thing Kakashi had learned in his thirty-three years on earth, it was that humans were creatures of habit. Kakashi certainly liked his own patterns- reading the same novels, hanging out with the same people, eating the same foods if he could help it...

Fox was no exception to this part of human nature. And that, Kakashi decided, would help predict his next move.

Kakashi chewed absently on the butt of his pencil and stared at his notepad.

_Plan 1: Hokage Switcharoo _

_Advantages: SURPRISE! I was the weird orderly all along!_

_Disadvantages: Endangers Naruto - unforgiveable!_

He frowned and took his pencil to paper again. Option 2, then...

_Plan 2: Whack-a-Kage_

_Advantages: Doesn't endanger anyone in particular_

_Disadvantages: Will it lure out Fox? Will he even need to come out at all? Will he not just sit back and enjoy himself as Konoha becomes leaderless and spirals into a pit of endless chaos and despa-_

Kakashi lifted his pencil off the paper and came to the following conclusion: Whack-a-Kage is useless. With a slightly disappointed sigh, he crossed it out. Truth be told, his brain was simply too fried to be able to come up with anything particularly fruitful. He needed sleep, and a lot of it. In his current condition, however, he doubted even a week's worth of sleep still wouldn't be able to lift the fog from his mind.

The patter of claws on wood alerted him of Pakkun's presence, and a moment later the pug leapt up onto the desk. He studied Kakashi's notes briefly and the permanent furrow between his eyes deepened even further. After a moment he harrumphed and poked at the sheet with a paw. "'Whack-a-Kage'? What sort of a plan is that?"

Kakashi gave him a slightly affronted look and drew the paper towards himself. "It's important work. Don't get your paw prints all over it."

"Sounds more like you're developing an arcade game, or somethin'," Pakkun sniffed, his small nose wiggling from side to side.

"I don't think my fellow Kages would appreciate me patenting 'Whack-a-Kage'. People might get ideas."

The pug snorted. "People have _had_ that idea for as long as there have been Kage. The real trouble is getting the Kage to stand still for long enough to whack 'em."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "What are you implying?"

"I'm just sayin', if I was bigger and faster than, you, I'd-"

A knock on the door interrupted whatever Pakkun was about to say (though if the gleam in his beady little eyes was anything to go by, Kakashi could guess it involved a bump on his head), and a moment later Tenzou appeared. "Hokage-sama," He said, sounding exhausted.

"Just _Kakashi_, please."

"_Hokage-sama," _Tenzou repeated.

"I bet _he'd_ like Whack-a-Kage," Pakkun muttered.

Kakashi put his pen down and gave Pakkun a shove. "What is it, Tenzou?"

As Pakkun tumbled to the floor, Tenzou stepped into the room. Judging from the sharp lines of his shoulders and his grave expression, it wasn't going to be good. Kakashi's suspicion was confirmed a moment later, when Tenzou said, "A group of people has gathered in front of the hospital. They demand to know what's going on- apparently, they got word of Sai's... involvement, and believe him to be a traitor. There were even a few who mentioned Genma-san's name."

"An actual mob? Were there pitch forks and torches involved?" Kakashi wanted to ask, but the joke was lost in a sudden coughing fit. It wasn't long, but by the end of it his breathing rasped through his throat painfully.

As he regained his breath he briefly wondered whether this was punishment for the bad timing of the joke, before more pressing matters pushed to the forefront of his mind. Coughing while poisoned? Not good. Kakashi didn't taste blood in his mouth, which was _something_, but it still indicated some level of internal damage. His chest felt tight, and he had to remind himself to breath in and out at a regular speed. Hyperventilation would only aggravate matters.

Of course, there was also the added effect of having Tenzou leaning over him, looking worried. "Senpai...? Should I call for Sakura?"

Kakashi waved a hand at him. "No- it's fine," he rasped, "it's already passed. Let's deal with the matter at hand. Lynch mob, Sai, pitch forks and torches. We have to deal with it."

"I'm not sure about _lynching_, senpai, but it doesn't look good to have two purported traitors being treated in the hospital under minimal surveillance. People might doubt your judgment," Tenzou added hesitantly.

"Which is exactly what Fox wants, I imagine," Kakashi said hoarsely, running his hands over his face. He was too damn tired for this. What were his options, anyway? Keep quiet and wait for them to go away? No- inaction would only strengthen the rumours, as well as play right into Fox's hands. So what then? Inform the public that some maniac was going around taking over people's minds? _That_ would go over well. Soon you'd have everyone and their mother thinking they might be next.

No. Control was key. "Inform them of the following: we have strong reasons to believe that neither Genma or Sai are guilty of the allegations. As the situation is still developing we will treat them as we would other suspects. That includes the right to medical care," he briefly broke character here to add, "and if there are still some snobs who believe prisoners should not be granted as such, they should take another look at my policy reforms."

He coughed again. "Go yourself- you're a familiar face by now, they all associate you with me. Be firm, send them home. Make sure they know we have it under control. Control is the most important bit," he rasped, leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. He felt so damn _tired_. The room seemed to spin around him, and all he wanted to do was return to his bed and hide under the covers.

When he opened his eyes again, Tenzou was watching him with a peculiar expression, somewhere in between concern and doubt. Kakashi had seen it before, and liked it as little now as he had then.

Whatever Tenzou was thinking, he must have decided to put it aside for now. "Yes, sir. In the meantime, are you sure I shouldn't call for a medic?" He asked instead.

"Quite sure," Kakashi said, waving Tenzou's concerns away, "if I really need one, I'll ask Naruto to get Sakura. Just go. Save Sai from the angry village people," he added, hoping dry humour might conceal the very real concern he felt. Tenzou worked best when Kakashi seemed sure of the course of action. He always had.

As expected, the joke flew right over Tenzou's head. Instead, he sighed, and spoke again. "Senpai, there's something else. The people are restless. They want to know what's going on. People died when the ANBU headquarters were attacked, and your tower exploding didn't go unnoticed either. They know something's up, but they don't know _what_. They're scared, Hokage-sama. They wouldn't be acting out like this otherwise."

Kakashi pinched the bridge of his nose. "You're right, Tenzou. This is why it's important that it won't happen again. We need to get ahead of Fox and predict his next move. Which is why- well. I've thought of something. It's not foolproof, but I think we'll get some results. In the meantime, I need you to closely monitor not only my guards, but Tsunade's as well. I'll assign a, ah, personally chosen ANBU guard to her as well. I hope you don't mind my overstepping your authority on that one."

Tenzou blinked. It was a bit sensitive, perhaps, to borrow one of the ANBU commander's own men without the commander knowing it, even if you _were_ Hokage. Then again, the man Kakashi had in mind wasn't _really_ an active member of ANBU anyway- or a member of ANBU at all. Now he just needed to convince himself it was the right thing to do...

"I do hope you trust me, Tenzou," Kakashi met Tenzou's eyes slowly, and held the other man's gaze for a while. "I need you to trust me."

A strange expression flitted over Tenzou's face. He seemed conflicted about something, but he nodded anyway. "Of course, Hokage-sama. I trust you with my life."

"Mahh, let's hope it doesn't come to that. You can go now."

Tenzou bowed (oh, _please_) and left, leaving Kakashi behind. He got up from his seat slowly and stretched. Something in his back popped, and he winced.

"You're gettin' old," Naruto said, appearing in the doorway.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at him. "And _you're_ getting sneaky. How long have you been standing there?" Perhaps if he had been more focused he would have noticed that particular blend of spices in the air that usually announced Naruto's presence- or, you know, his in-your-face chakra signature. It seemed, however, that Naruto was starting to learn how to repress it. _Finally._

Quite frankly, the idea of someone of Naruto's calibre being able to sneak up on people was rather terrifying. But then Kakashi wouldn't exactly have to worry about that himself, would he?

Naruto shrugged, but the corners of his lips turned upwards. "Long enough. Finally gonna tell me more about that plan?"

When Kakashi didn't immediately answer, Naruto strode into the room. He reached the desk and made a grab for the papers.

"Ah-" Kakashi reached out to snatch them from Naruto's hands, but he didn't get there in time. He resigned himself to it straight away- the wording and the chicken scrawl would serve to keep curious bystanders from reading through them anyway.

"What- _sensei_, these notes are worse than mine! What is that even supposed to mean?" Naruto squinted at the paper and, for some reason, flipped the paper on its head as if that would make the notes more understandable.

Kakashi just blinked at him, and hoped the fact that Naruto's _own_ handwriting was equally disastrous (no matter what he might claim!) didn't mean he could decipher Kakashi's.

"I don't know what you mean by the weird orderly thing, but this bit... '_ Endangers Naruto - unforgiveable!'" _Naruto read aloud, ruining Kakashi's hopes of an easy get-away.

Naruto tilted his head a little. "Don't you think that's for me to decide?" he asked, giving Kakashi a look that was eerily reminiscent of Kushina's scolding face. That face had given him _nightmares_. Naruto's retort lacked the fire that it had had in their earlier discussions, but the point was pretty clear.

"Ahh- I guess deciding that for you would fall under the...?" Kakashi began weakly, trying and failing to think of all the reasons why asking his strongest subordinate to participate in an important mission was a bad idea.

It would fall under not taking Naruto seriously, of course. Then there was the whole 'not treating him as an adult' thing, and telling Naruto no now would _definitely _ ruin his reputation as a shinobi who focused on teamwork. Kakashi looked into serious blue eyes and decided that for once, he wasn't going to put his foot in his mouth and screw up again.

He sighed. The plan wasn't really possible without Naruto's aid anyway, if he was entirely honest with himself.

"Mahh, point made. Let's just... sit down, and I'll tell you. Truth be told, you're the only person who would really _need_ to know, anyway..." He sighed, and began to explain Naruto's part in his plan.

By the end of it, Naruto was wide-eyed. "You're crazy. You're _definitely_ crazy," he laughed, "I'll do it!"

xXx

Sakura eyed the guards warily. According to Tsunade, they'd shown up about an hour ago, marching into the depths of the hospital laboratory with all the poise and grace of eight year old Academy students. Tsunade was clearly annoyed by their presence, but she had yet to send them away. That could really only mean one thing: Sakura's old master believed their presence was _needed_.

To Sakura, it seemed pretty obvious there was only one reason for that: Fox was after Tsunade too. Because _of course_ the selfish bastard had to go after both of Sakura's mentors. Two of the strongest, most experienced people Sakura knew, neither of whom she wanted out of her life anytime soon.

Sakura waited, and tried not to fidget in the process.

She eyed Tsunade again.

Tsunade finally looked up from her paperwork and huffed. "Would you stop that?"

"Ah- sorry, shishou- stop what?" Sakura caught herself.

"Staring at me like I'm about to fall to pieces," Tsunade snapped. "I'm not the one who's poisoned, you know."

Sakura winced and looked away. "Sorry, Tsunade-shishou. It's just... what with the guards..." She pointed at them. "Well. I figured... Fox must be after you as well."

Tsunade turned sharp eyes on her. "Ah. I should have known you'd figure it out. Still, have you ever known someone to get the better of me?"

_Nagato_, Sakura thought, remembering the bones of Tsunade's hand brittle and bird-like in her own. "Aren't I allowed to worry?" She tried, smiling weakly.

Tsunade snorted. "Shizune does plenty of that, trust me. Either way, you should be focused on what I summoned you here for."

Sakura shifted her weight from one leg to the other. "...You haven't told me what I'm here for yet."

It was true. Tsunade had summoned her a while back, and Sakura had rushed to meet her master in her private laboratory. Once there, she'd spent at least five minutes just watching Tsunade at work, so focused on the papers underneath her nose that she'd barely acknowledged Sakura's presence.

Tsunade blinked. "I haven't? Huh. I suppose I was rather focused... I want you to take a look at these," she pointed at the papers on her desk.

Sakura made her way over to the desk. It took her a moment to understand what she was looking at. "It's a seal," she said, finally. "Like the one I used on Kakashi-sensei."

"Look again," Tsunade ordered.

Sakura did, studying the delicate ink lines. This wasn't Tsunade's work- in fact, she wasn't sure whose it was. It seemed more detailed, more intricate than what she was used to seeing. More complex than her own work, by far. This had been done by a seals master.

She traced the lines with her finger tip. "It's similar to my seal, but different. But I don't understand the symbols they've added..."

"Remind Kakashi to teach you some regular ninjutsu sealing techniques rather than just the ones focused on medical ninjutsu. You might benefit from it. This one was designed by me and Uzumaki Karin. The symbols you see here-" She pointed at the circle, "essentially function as a filter. And these," she pointed at another set, "regulate blood flow."

Sakura frowned and considered it for a moment. Her own seal had been intended to lock the poison into place, isolating it from the blood flow and sealing it into one specific location in the body. It was an imperfect technique that meant small particles of the poison would still filter through. This, however...

"Tsunade-shishou, a seal like this would filter _all_ of the poison through his blood stream. Why on earth-?"

Tsunade gave her an appreciative look. "Yes, it would- with a particular intention in mind. You understand the concept of neutralization and building up resistance, of course- I want to focus on those two concepts. We cannot take the poison out of Kakashi's body without killing him, nor can we make his antibodies fight it- I've tried that approach, but the poison was too strong."

Tsunade pointed at another symbol on the seal circle. "Then I thought of another theory: what if the seal were to function as a second 'body' of sorts- one which might be able to fight the poison, and filter clean blood out?"

Sakura frowned. "Like a kidney? That would be incredible- but is such a thing even possible?"

"Well, in theory, yes," Tsunade sighed and gestured at the seal. "This version is incomplete. The calculations and adjustments required for the seal ask a lot even of me, let alone Karin. She's skilled, but not a prodigy like Kushina was. I would ask Kakashi as well, as he is a seals master in his own right- not at Jiraiya's level, but one of the best in the village we still have left- but he's got enough to worry about."

"This could potentially save his life. Or kill him," Sakura breathed. "We have to test it."

"On who?" Tsunade shook her head. "No- if we pull this off, it will be do or die."

Sakura bit her lip. "If we can convince Fox to let sensei go..."

Tsunade laughed bitterly. "Do you really think he would? Kakashi certainly doesn't think so- _I_ certainly don't think so. No, Fox is old-world. Not even Naruto could talk him around, I'm afraid. Hence... this."

She gestured at the seal again, this time with such an air of contempt that it made Sakura's gut churn.

"You... don't think it would work, do you?" She asked hesitantly.

"I think that if I had a lot more time and better samples, I'd be able to fix him up in no time at all. But there isn't time, and there aren't any other samples." Tsunade shook her head.

"But Sasuke said-"

"I know what he said. I even wrote that damn Orochimaru about it, believe it or not, but he assures me that whatever the hell this is didn't come from him. The base ingredients, sure, but whoever made this stuff got creative with it. Orochimaru was actually quite intrigued, that slimy old-"

"If you reached out to him, you must really be worried." Sakura felt a burst of affection for the older woman. Tsunade, for all her grumbling, really did care a great deal for her people. Enough to reach out to the one man who could ruffle her feathers like no other.

Tsunade sniffed. "Well, I'm not taking that hat back, so I might as well make sure the person whose hair it's currently ruining gets to wear it for a bit longer."

Sakura felt the corners of her mouth twitch up into a smile, but it disappeared as another thought occurred to her. She hadn't forgotten Ox's remarks about Kakashi-sensei's dad, and Tsunade was old enough that she might know more. Plus, Kakashi had been her right-hand man for five years. Surely she'd looked into his files?

"Tsunade-shishou, Kakashi-sensei has a habit of... not telling anyone when he's in trouble. So I thought... shouldn't we... alert sensei's family?" Sakura probed.

Broaching the subject of family, however, was always difficult in a shinobi village. Simply because to many it was a _very_ sensitive subject. Sakura had never built up the nerve to ask Kakashi about the status of his family, and asking Tsunade felt... well, it felt a little bit cowardly, to be honest. But she wanted to know, and she wouldn't be able to get anything out of Kakashi-sensei even if she plied it out of him with a crowbar.

Tsunade shifted and looked away. "He doesn't have any, Sakura. There is no one to alert."

Something in Sakura's stomach twisted. No family. She'd often suspected it. He had that same look in his eyes that Naruto and Sasuke had, and that same bemusement whenever she'd complained about her parents' slightly obsessive involvement in her own life when she'd been a teenager. He never mentioned any names, and there were no pictures in his apartment. "No one at all?"

"There was a clan, once. Before he was born. They were torn apart by war. His father came to Konoha as an infant. He had no one, and when he died, Kakashi had no one too. As for his mother, well. She died young."

No one. _Oh._ Sakura suddenly felt very curious about who these people had been- it was a bit strange to imagine Kakashi-sensei as someone who actually had _parents_, but of course he must have had them. Even he had been a child once, hard as it was to imagine.

"Tsunade- shishou... Is it true that Kakashi-sensei's dad was-" Sakura's breath halted. Tsunade had turned towards her mid-sentence, her eyes sharp.

"That he was what?" Tsunade asked intently.

"I heard someone say he was a traitor..." Sakura trailed off as she saw Tsunade's expression. Apparently, that had very much been the wrong thing to say.

The shift was quick. Tsunade gripped the table so tightly her knuckles were white. "A traitor? Sakumo? Even after all these years, that _bullshit_ is still going around?"

"Tsunade-shishou, I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"No- it's not _your_ fault. It's the fault of whoever told you. What sort of idiot still believes that crap?" Tsunade began to rummage through the documents with forceful moves, nails scratching across the paper.

"I- it was Ox. Fox's henchman." Sakura dropped her head. "He implied- well, he said Kakashi-sensei was the son of... of a cowardly traitor."

"Hatake Sakumo was- he was many things, but he fought for what he believed in. Don't you forget that, Sakura. No matter what people may tell you." Tsunade looked like she wanted to say more, but instead turned away from Sakura.

Sakura could feel her heart pounding in her ears. The air felt heavy all of a sudden. "Tsunade-shishou...?"

With her back towards Sakura, the outline of Tsunade's shoulders seemed filled with tension, her pale hair made to look harsh in the cold laboratory light. "I'm sorry, Sakura. It's been a long time, and yet... There were a lot of bullshit rumours flying around Konoha some twenty-five years ago that made life particularly difficult if you happened to be called Hatake. It tore their family apart. That's it."

" 'That's it' doesn't really seem to cover it," Sakura said softly. What on earth could have been so bad to have torn a family apart over it? She couldn't imagine Kakashi-sensei being so angry with someone- let alone his own _father_\- that they'd fall out over it. Or had they fallen apart because this Sakumo man died? And how had he died, anyway?

Tsunade sighed deeply, and for a moment she looked every last one of her fifty-eight years. "Sakumo was my friend. I didn't support him the way I should have. None of us were sure how much of it was rumour, and how much of it was fact. We failed him. The village failed him, and he died because of it. Kakashi's mother died a few years before he did. There was no one else."

Sakura felt dizzy. "Won't you tell me what happened?"

Tsunade hesitated visibly. Then she shook her head minutely. "It's not my secret to share. I'm sorry Sakura, but you'll have to ask him."

Sakura tried not to let her disappointment show too clearly. "He'll never answer."

"No, he probably won't. But that's his right," Tsunade corrected her. She seemed to collect her thoughts as she scraped the blueprints for the seal together, placing them into a manila folder. "I will hang on to these. Should the day come that we need it, I'll make sure the seal is ready for use."

And that, it seemed, was that. Once Tsunade decided she didn't want to discuss something, Sakura knew she would stick to it. She wasn't so different from Kakashi-sensei, in that respect.

Feeling like she'd only gotten more questions instead of answers, Sakura left the laboratory and went to find her teammates.

xXx

Sasuke waited until nightfall to make his move.

Evading the guards was easy- it had actually been much harder to evade Sakura and Naruto, who'd clearly been looking for him. He'd duped them with a clone in the end, who'd gone with them to have dinner. Sasuke hadn't expected much of the event, but when the clone had disappeared his mind was suddenly flooded by memories of a morose Sakura telling them about her conversation with Tsunade.

_Twenty-five years ago, it had been a bad thing to be called Hatake._

_"You had someone to blame for your loss. I only had the long dead to accuse."_

He would ask Kakashi the next time they were alone, and he wouldn't accept the cryptic bullshit Kakashi usually came up with. Sasuke was sure that whatever had happened in the past was the key to understanding Kakashi- and maybe, his own future as well.

_Konoha's White Fang_, Naruto had contributed once Sakura had told her part of the story. That had been Kakashi's dad's nickname. Someone known even in Sunagakure, supposedly on par with the _Sannin_. Sasuke vaguely remembered the name from the history books, but he couldn't recall any details. It hadn't struck him as particularly odd back then that the exploits such a famous shinobi had been left so vague in the books, but now it did. For every Konoha shinobi with a nickname, there was a story. A legend.

For Hatake Sakumo, there was only a name.

And for someone on par with the Sannin, that was unthinkable.

For now, though, Sasuke had to set thoughts of the mysterious White Fang aside to pursue something else entirely: the plan he'd worked out before he'd sent his clone off with his friends.

With the angry crowds in front of the hospital finally dispersed, it wouldn't even be hard.

The ANBU guards placed around room 208 were crafty and observant, but even the Byakugan couldn't stand up to a Rinnegan-enforced genjutsu. Sasuke had made it a mild one, one that would simply send the Hyuuga to sleep. He did feel some measure of kinship with the Hyuuga clan, after all, and it wouldn't do to harm one of them. The other guard was easily taken out with a genjutsu that would make it look like nothing was happening in the room. All that the guard would be able to perceive was Sai, sleeping.

Sasuke repressed his chakra as deeply as he could, and leapt towards the bed in one smooth motion. As Sai's eyes shot open, Sasuke forced a hand over the older man's mouth and pushed him back into the bed. Sai's arms came up immediately, but Sasuke had predicted as much- with a few precise strikes of _chidori_, he paralyzed Sai's limbs. It wouldn't last for long, but Sasuke didn't _need_ very long.

Sasuke leaned back slowly, one foot still on Sai's chest. "Don't bother with screaming. No one will hear you. I'm here to ask you a few questions."

Sai was breathing heavily, but he didn't look as scared as Sasuke had expected. There was still defiance in his ink-black eyes, and Sasuke could respect that. When Sasuke took his hand away, Sai remained controlled. "What do you want?" he rasped.

"Answers. Are you, or are you not in league with Fox?" Sasuke demanded, pressing his foot down harder.

Something flickered behind Sai's eyes, but it disappeared immediately. "I'm not a traitor," he said.

"That's not _what I asked_. Are you, or are you not trying to kill Kakashi and hurt the village?"

"I'm _not_ a _traitor_," Sai hissed back.

Sasuke leaned back and studied the other man's face. He didn't know much about Sai, other than that he'd come to replace Sasuke on team 7. That alone was not reason enough to dislike him, per se, but the fact that he'd been Danzou's man _was_.

Naruto had excellent people knowledge, but he could also be terribly naive. Even Kakashi sometimes chose to trust the most unlikely of people. Sasuke, on the other hand, was neither trusting nor naive, so it was up to him to figure out the truth.

Ten seconds remaining before the paralysis would fade. Sasuke pushed Sai further back onto the bed, making it that much harder for him to breathe. "Tell me the truth, or you _die_."

"And then what? What will our team think? Will they appreciate you killing me, you think?" Sai rasped, but he didn't sound much like the awkward young man Sasuke found so hard to understand. Maybe this was his ROOT persona, the hardened ANBU assassin who'd probably committed many crimes in his life.

Sasuke blinked, and unbiddenly images of Naruto and Sakura's heartbroken expressions came to mind. Even Kakashi would be disappointed, or sad-

Sasuke grabbed Sai by the front of his hospital shirt and drew him closer. "Just tell me the tru-!"

If not for his Rinnegan, he wouldn't have seen it coming. As it was, he saw the flash of chakra the split-second before it reached him. Then it seemed to envelop him like a mist, clouding his mind and-

_Itachi, crying as he pierced their father's heart with his sword. Their mother crying and begging him not to continue, her own Sharingan spinning into the Mangekyou as she watched her husband die. Itachi turning on her, his sobs intensifying as he cut her throat-_

Sasuke gasped for breath and fell backwards off the bed, his heart thundering in his chest. He lashed out instinctively as the genjutsu he had been weaving through the room dissipated, throwing chakra and steel towards Sai.

Sai leapt off the bed but didn't avoid injury, screaming as Sasuke's chakra tore through his side. Sai reached the door before Sasuke did and skidded out, almost slipping on his own blood.

Sasuke tried not to heave. That- that wasn't genjutsu- that was _memory_, Itachi's memory, _oh no-_

Reality caught up with him again as he heard Sai crying out for help in the corridor.

"He's gone mad! Please, help me- Uchiha's gone mad!"

Sasuke forced himself up and into the hallway.

He reached it just in time to meet Sai's half-crazed, wild eyes- and the looks of many other shinobi, patients and medics alike, staring at him.

Staring at him, after he had just seemingly tried to kill Sai.

_Twenty-five years ago, it had not been a good thing to be called Hatake_. But today, it was not a good thing to be called Uchiha. Particularly if you'd just been caught in the act of trying to murder the Hokage's trusted teammate.

* * *

**AN:**

**Comments are love! 3**

**Sorry for the delay on this update. To compensate, it's a bit longer than usual.**

**I've edited a few of the older chapters again. No content-changes, just taking out some lines that seemed OOC to me in retrospect, as well as smoothing out punctuation and grammar. Chapter 5's html got messed up in the process, but fortunately an eagle-eyed reader commented so I could fix it!**

**Finally, do yourself a favour and Google ANBU Legacy. Seriously. Those writers make me look like an untalented hack. **


	21. Breakthrough

**Chapter 21. Breakthrough**

* * *

The boy was useful. _Very_ useful.

Fox turned a grin into a grimace as a young medic-nin stopped him in the hallway, pressing glowing hands to his torn side. The injury was bad- not lethal, but enough to disable this body for long enough to surpass his own limits.

His chakra was starting to run out, which meant he'd have to move on. A hop and a skip to another body first, before returning to his own. That would be safest.

And he'd have to erase Sai's memory, of course.

It wasn't hard to fake losing consciousness. He'd seen it happen to a hundred different shinobi a hundred different times. He rolled his eyes back, unlocked his knees, and allowed this borrowed sack of meat and bones to slide to the floor.

In his mind's eye, the mental representation of the real Sai was huddled to the floor, dull eyes trained on Fox.

Fox grinned. "I'd like to thank you for your service, ROOT agent Sai," he drawled. "Now, how about we rearrange this place before I finally leave you to your... well, peace won't exactly be accurate, now will it?"

xXx

Sasuke flew through the night sky, barely even touching down on the roofs in his haste. With his kekkei genkai, the night sky was lit up with chakra signatures, most of them calm and resting.

His own chakra, on the other hand, was as erratic as the beat of his heart. They'd seen him. They'd caught him attacking a Konoha shinobi. Even if his reasons had been good-

They wouldn't care. They wouldn't see it that way. All they'd see was the last Uchiha, once again gone rogue.

He didn't even realize where he'd been going until he crashed down on Naruto's balcony, eyes zeroing in on the bright furnace of chakra that was Naruto, and the smaller presence of Kakashi. Sasuke pushed the balcony door open and stormed inside. He panted as he entered the room, which felt small and cramped but still better than being outside, where people could see him, where they could look at him with those accusing eyes.

"Wha- Sasuke? What's going on?" As the figure on the couch stirred, Naruto stuck his head out of his bedroom door, hair mussed. A moment later the light turned on, bright and accusing in its sharpness.

"I- Sai. I just- they looked at me-" Sasuke's voice sounded tight to his own ears and he forced himself to breathe in deeply through his nose.

The others exchanged a look. Without saying a word, Naruto made a clone. "Go find Sakura-chan and bring her here. Something's up," he ordered the clone. It nodded and leapt off before Sasuke could protest.

"Sasuke. What happened?" Kakashi's eyes were sharp despite his obvious exhaustion.

Sasuke bit his lip, suddenly embarrassed by his lapse of control. He pushed his chakra down, angry and fierce as it was, and closed his eyes. He couldn't lose it. He _couldn't_, he wasn't supposed to be this obvious anyway, this was painful, embarrassing.

Naruto's hand on his shoulder shook him out of his reverie. Worried blue eyes met his own. "Sasuke, what's going on? Are you okay?"

Sasuke looked from Naruto to Kakashi, still half-sitting on the couch. He let out a sigh, and let the Sharingan slip from his eyes. "I think I just made a mistake," he admitted.

xXx

By the time Sasuke had finished explaining, Naruto's clone had returned with an obviously concerned Sakura- and Kakashi's headache had magnified.

He remembered being twenty and going for a drink with Jiraiya- he'd woken up in a complete stranger's bathroom the next day, feeling like Gamabunta had tap-danced on his head. That had been the first and last time he'd ever been drunk in his life, and the headache he currently sported was not unlike that one.

(Jiraiya had been even worse, of course- although it had taken a badly hung-over Kakashi a significant effort to track the older man down to a _dog kennel_, of all places, where an angry Inuzuka had locked him up after he'd come onto her. He'd smelled of dog piss for _days._)

Of course, this headache came without vague and very confusing memories that at least _suggested_ he'd had a good time, prior to ending up in a stranger's house.

And now, whatever Sasuke had managed to salvage of his reputation had been destroyed once more. Or so it seemed, anyway. Judging from Sasuke's erratic behaviour, he certainly believed as much.

Sasuke didn't seem as on edge now. He'd gone back to being his usual cool, brooding self, but his jaw clenched periodically and he refused to sit down even when Naruto gave him something to drink. He'd rejected Sakura's healing completely, denying that he was hurt, but he held himself stiffly.

"So we go to Sai. We explain to him what happened, and he'll set things right," Naruto argued, looking like he was about to go and do exactly that. "Even if he doesn't like you much, he's not one to _lie_\- he knows what this could mean for you."

Sasuke snorted and shook his head. "And what if he's not who you think he is? What if he was with ROOT all along? He didn't _deny_ it when I asked."

"He _wouldn't_," Sakura argued, but she didn't sound as certain as Naruto. She was sitting opposite Kakashi on Naruto's only other couch, a ratty old thing not fit for anything other than, well, _un-decorating_ the place, her fists clenched in her lap.

"He just wouldn't. Maybe... Maybe Fox still has a hold on him, somehow."

"Is that possible?" Kakashi interjected, "Sakura, you know more about the Yamanaka techniques than we do. Fox's technique is probably similar to theirs, so it might have a similar mechanism. Can you... I don't know, stick around in someone's mind and make it look like you're not there anymore?"

Sakura frowned. "I don't know. When Ino tried to check, Sai lost consciousness right away. He had convulsions."

"There isn't time to sit around and discuss it!" Naruto cried out, "We have to go, _now!_"

Kakashi filed away his other questions and nodded. There were other matters to attend to. He eyed his most irate student. "Sasuke, I won't pretend I'm not disappointed in you. I told you when you first left that anything you do reflects badly on me, too. That's still true. Even if you didn't mean to injure Sai, you were reckless-"

"I _know_ that. Don't lecture me- I haven't been your student in a _long_ time," Sasuke snapped, eyes furious.

Kakashi leaned back into the couch with the blow. He felt a stab of guilt- he really hadn't been much of a teacher, after all.

"Sasuke, you basta-" "Sasuke-kun, you shouldn't say such things," his other students protested.

Kakashi didn't look away from Sasuke and let the silence drag for a bit. Bad teacher or not, this was an important moment. Potentially pivotal- if he couldn't control Sasuke to some degree, he would always have to rely on Naruto to do so. He didn't doubt that he _could_ entrust Naruto with it, he just didn't _want_ to. Naruto had enough to deal with.

It wasn't easy to be intimidating when you were hanging on a couch and looked like death warmed over, but he thought he could still manage _stern_.

"You're right, I'm _not_ your teacher- I'm your _Hokage_. As long as you want to be a part of this village you are the Hokage's subordinate. And when my subordinates do something stupid, I have the right to lecture them about it," he said quietly.

Pulling rank on your own student. Well then, good going, Kakashi. He hated himself just a little bit more.

Still, at least it made Sasuke go quiet. He looked at Kakashi like he'd been struck in the face. Then he looked away and muttered something.

Kakashi wasn't willing to bet his life on it being 'sorry'.

"Now, let's go to the hospital and see what we can salvage. Naruto, about what we discussed...?" He let his sentence trail off, trusting that it would be enough.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. Don't worry, I've got it."

Kakashi smiled back and tried to get up. Operative word being 'tried'. There was an awkward moment where they all tried to pretend he _hadn't_ just fallen back onto the couch like a newborn foal, and then he managed to get himself up on his feet again.

Ah. Not good.

His students seemed to remember his request not to ask him how he was feeling every few seconds, but on their way to the hospital they hovered close by as if to catch him should he stumble. He pretended not to notice.

Nonetheless, they made it to the hospital without any further hitches. By then ANBU had caught up with them and guided them towards the scene of the crime: Sai's hospital room.

"The prisoner has fainted and is currently being treated," the head medic on duty informed them. "Hokage-sama, surely you are aware...?" the medic tried, eyeing Sasuke nervously.

The ANBU were wary too, hands hovering over their weapons at all times and their chakra on edge.

Kakashi crossed his arms. "I am aware of what you _think_ has happened, but things are a bit more complicated than that. Look underneath the underneath, Honda-san. Where is Sai being kept?"

"He's in surgery. He will be out soon, if you wish to speak to him?"

"Yes. Do you think he'll have enough awareness?"

The medic shrugged. "We'll have to hope. His chakra is severely disturbed, however. It's not something I see often."

"But you _have_ seen it before?" Sakura caught on and asked him before Kakashi could.

The medic nodded hesitantly. "Chunin exams. Whenever a Yamanaka participates."

_Yamanaka_. Again and again, all signs pointed towards the Yamanaka. "Would you say it resembles the chakra signature of someone who has been the subject of Shintenshin no jutsu?"

The medic hesitated. "Yes and no. I'm not an expert, but from what I remember the symptoms were rarely as severe as this. If it _was_ shintenshin no jutsu, it would have been a particularly potent form. Hokage-sama, why would a Yamanaka-?" He eyed Sasuke again.

"Honda-san, I trust you will be discrete?" Kakashi smiled and placed a hand on the man's shoulder.

The man gulped, clearly aware he was in way over his head. "Of course, Hokage-sama."

Honda scuffled off and Kakashi exchanged a look with his students.

"The Yamanaka... Are there files we can look into?" Sasuke drawled. Of course studying files would also mean getting away from the hospital and avoiding further _situations_ for Sasuke.

Kakashi considered it briefly, then nodded. "Owl." He beckoned Yugao, who was decked out in full ANBU regalia and waiting nearby, "Take Sasuke and Sakura to the archives and show them the Yamanaka files. Search for any Yamanaka somehow related to ANBU, ROOT, or Danzou. See what you can find."

Yuugao hesitated only for a moment before she beckoned Sasuke and Sakura and left. Sasuke followed her immediately, but Sakura threw a worried look over her shoulder before going as well. "What will you do?" She asked Kakashi and Naruto.

"Something important," Kakashi said. "There's no time. _Go_."

Sakura looked a little hurt, but she nodded and left.

Kakashi turned towards the head medic. "Show me to Sai. _Now_."

Honda-san nodded and headed down a nearby hallway at a half-run, clearly sensing Kakashi's impatience.

Kakashi was grateful that Honda hadn't decided to go for a full sprint, because he wasn't sure he'd be able to pull one without fainting. Even a trot was enough to make him feel hot and light-headed.

Throughout it all, Naruto clung to his side like a shadow. "What are we going to do?"

"If Sai was possessed just now, there might still be some trace chakra signature left in his system. If so, you might be able to identify it. If we could manage _that_, we could-"

"We could find Fox," Naruto breathed.

Kakashi nodded. "Exactly."

Naruto smiled grimly. Moments later, chakra flowed from his body and cloaked him in gold. "I'll take care of that," he said in Kurama's voice, eyes glowing red. "The brat's not too good with precision."

Talking to a creature who had haunted many a dream during his teenage years was not something Kakashi would ever really get used to, but he managed a smile. The worst of Kurama's actions had been Obito's doing, after all. Not... that that made it any easier to process.

They reached the operating room moments later. Honda-san gave them a wary look, clearly unsure why Konoha's hero was suddenly glowing like a lantern, or why the Hokage didn't stop at the door.

"Hokage-sama- you can't go in there-!"

The point of being Hokage, of course, was that Kakashi _could_ do just that. Technically, there wasn't a soul alive who outranked him. Ha. That did come in handy, now and then.

Chakra surgery was not the sort of thing that relied on hygiene. It certainly helped to operate in a sterile environment, but it wasn't strictly necessary. Even so, barging into a live surgery wasn't exactly appreciated by the chakra surgeons. They looked up in various states of shock and disarray as Naruto and Kakashi barged into the room, and two of them lost control over their threads of chakra briefly before professionalism took over and they regained it.

Kakashi tried not to think about what that might have done to Sai. Naruto would probably have stopped there and then, arguing that they shouldn't endanger Sai's life, not for anything. For the village, though, Kakashi was willing to make the bet. Fortunately, Kurama was too.

Kurama's eyes were closed, the only evidence of his having taken over being the thicker lines on Naruto's cheeks. "There is a trace of chakra, like you said," the bijuu growled, "it's all tangled up in Sai's own chakra. Wrapped around his head like yarn around a kitten. There's a thread- yes. I've got it. He's not far from here."

Kakashi's heartbeat sped up to what had to be a dangerous level. Before he could do anything or say anything, however, Kurama grabbed him by the arm and ripped the two of them out of the surgery and into another room. Teleportation was always disorienting, but Kakashi had plenty of experience courtesy of being Minato's student. He re-oriented himself quickly.

The room they landed in was unlit, but Kurama's chakra revealed a significant portion of its interior. It appeared to be a store room of sorts- and in it stood a nurse, her eyes widened almost comically.

"_There!"_ Kurama roared, chakra flying towards the woman. Something in the air _shifted_ as she dodged to the left, her face a mask of concentration. Kakashi didn't doubt that she was Fox's current host for a moment when he caught sight of her cold, dead eyes. She moved her hands as she fell and-

_Rin, thirteen years old and her chest a gaping hole, lying in a sea of thick and cloying blood_. _In the distance, a gnarled tree sticks up from the landscape like a broken hand clawing at the sky. Corpses are strewn all over the floor or caught up in the three's bark, as though it grew around them._

_Kakashi stands in the sea of blood and watches as Rin's unmoving body, her dead eyes, and he can't stop screaming, "who did this, who did this, who-"_

Kurama cursed loudly as Kakashi came to, gasping. He didn't lose consciousness, but his vision swam and - damn it- tears stood in his eyes. He blinked them away quickly.

Kurama stood over the nurse's body where it lies crumpled to the ground. Her chest is still rising and falling periodically, so she's not dead. Kakashi joined Kurama.

"What happened?" He asked, "I- whatever she did, that technique, it-"

"Yeah, yeah, I saw it too," Kurama said, crossing his arms over his chest. His expression didn't betray his thoughts. "Fox got away, but I got a good feel of his chakra. I'll be able to recognize it now if he gets close enough, and through me, Naruto. Still, I can't believe some measly little human got the better of me," he growled.

"They were memories- " Kakashi began, his breath coming short, "Somehow he projected bad memories into our minds. _My_ memories. Like- like he plucked them from my mind and-"

"Easy, little man," Kurama scolded him. "Imma let Naruto take back over. He's pretty shaken, too. He saw Obito's memories of that girl's death back in the war. He felt a connection with her, 'cause of her being a jinchuuriki. You need to calm down and talk to him. Figure it out together."

"Yes, yes-" The room was spinning around Kakashi, and his knees could no longer hold him up. He made it to the wall and slid down to sit on the floor, head still spinning. That had been- it had been _so real_\- was this what Sasuke had described? Their own traumas, flung back at them? Was that why Fox had looked like Obito, the first time they'd fought?'

"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto said, sounding terribly young. "What just happened? I- I heard what Kurama said, but I don't understand. What was that?"

Kakashi buried his face in his hands as he caught his breath. He had to exude calm. He had to stay in control. Pushing his emotions down, he finally looked up again and said, as calmly as he could manage, "Memories. They were memories."

"_Your_ memories," Naruto said. It wasn't a question.

"Yes. It seems that way."

"But _how?"_

"I don't know, Naruto. I- somehow, it's as if he can dig through our minds in a moment and-" he stopped himself. "No- that shouldn't be possible. No one could see that much, that precisely in such a short amount of time. Yamanaka's need far more time than that to read memories. If Fox is a Yamanaka, he'd need more time."

There was something there, nagging in his mind. Something...

"They were wrong. The memories. They were wrong," he said, suddenly more sure of himself than he had been in a long time. "I wasn't standing, I was-" clutching Rin's body, sobbing, and he'd only started screaming once the back-up had arrived- "The memories were wrong."

Which meant... Which had to mean...? What? What did it mean? What was his brain trying to tell him, practically _screaming_ at him?

Who would know this? Who would know of that day, but get the details just a little bit wrong? Who would know about Sakumo? Who would know about his connection to Obito? Who would know seeing the day of Rin's death might also distract Naruto?

Who...?

Kakashi's breath caught in his throat. "Naruto, we need to go and find Sasuke. I think I understand, now."

xXx

"I don't understand. Why are you doing this?" Ino asked again.

The Yamanaka archives in the T&amp;I department, Yuugao had told Sasuke and Sakura, were the best place to look for a clan census, as well as personal and medical records. So that's where they'd gone. Only moments after Yuugao had left, Ino had barged in, clearly furious.

Sakura gave her friend an apologetic look but didn't stop digging through the files cabinet. "I'm sorry, Ino, but you already know why. If Fox really _is_ a Yamanaka, we have to find out who."

"He _can't_ be. No Yamanaka would betray the village like that," Ino argued.

"Maybe he doesn't think he _is_ betraying the village," Sasuke said softly from the other side of the room. "Maybe he thinks it's for the best."

"What do you mean?" Ino asked.

"He said that he's not a traitor. When he was using Sai- assuming he _was_ using Sai. I'm still not convinced-"

"Sasuke, _please,_" Sakura interrupted him. "What did he say?"

Sasuke shrugged and turned back to the cabinet he was rifling through. "Like I said. He claimed he wasn't a traitor. Seemed pretty adamant about it."

Ino crossed her arms over her chest and began to pace the room. "Okay. Okay. So if he _is_ a Yamanaka... Maybe he's just misguided? Maybe he needs help? Maybe-"

"Maybe he needs his head cut off," Sasuke said coldly. Ino's face flushed.

Okay. That's it. Sakura dropped the file she was holding and stood up. "Would you two just _stop_ it? Ino, if Fox is a Yamanaka, it's _not your fault_. You are not solely responsible for the actions of your people. Sasuke, whoever Fox is, we need to keep him alive to save Kakashi-sensei. You _know_ that. Also, you heard that medic. Whether you like it or not, Sai _was_ possessed by Fox."

When she finished talking, Sakura's heart beat wildly in her chest. Sasuke had turned to stare at her. He seemed unnerved. Sakura's face heated up- not in the old, stomach-flipping way, not anymore- but instead of backing down she lifted her chin and met his gaze.

Whatever she and Sasuke were these days, she knew one thing for certain: she wouldn't let him walk all over her, _or_ insult her best friend.

Finally, Sasuke looked away.

Ino, on the other hand, looked closer to tears. "How could it _not_ be my fault? I'm supposed to be their clan leader. If they have problems, they're supposed to come to _me_ first. I know they still think of me as a child. I know I'm not my father, but I thought- if I just _tried-_ they'd trust me. They'd learn to take me seriously."

Sakura sighed and moved towards her friend. "Ino, hey. No one expects you to be your father," she said quietly, aware that Sasuke was looking at them again. "No one wants that. Not your mom, and not your clan. They want you to be _you_. As for Fox, there's _clearly_ something wrong with that man, so don't you dare blame yourself for him."

Ino managed a wet chuckle. "I guess. I know that intellectually, but it's hard not to feel it, y'know? And then Sai got hurt, too... And all those people who died, and Kakashi-sensei who's not doing well..." She shook her head and wiped at her eyes. "But you're right. There's no point in crying over spilt milk. We should look through the files."

Sasuke frowned. "You'll help us, then?"

Ino hesitated only briefly before she nodded. "Yes. I will help you. I know my clan. I _do_. Maybe not as well as I thought I did, but I can still be of help."

Sakura smiled and resisted the urge to hug her friend. "Thank you, Ino. That means a lot. Can you think of anyone who might have been affiliated with ROOT?"

Ino shook her head. "Only Yamanaka Fuu, but he died years ago. His father, Shou-san, hasn't left the house since we told him his son had been part of ROOT. I think the news came as a big shock to him..."

"So no chance that he knew more about his son's techniques?"

"No. I doubt it. But we can look at Fuu's files. They were moved here after ROOT was disbanded," Ino explained, and turned to one of the cabinet's Sakura and Sasuke hadn't looked at yet. After a moment she pulled out a manila folder, and placed it on the small desk behind them.

Sakura and Sasuke moved over to stand next to her, and looked at the portrait of a young man with red hair pulled back into a ponytail.

"He's not blond. That's new," Sakura said, slightly amused.

Ino snorted. "His dad married outside the clan. I guess she must have been a redhead. Here: Yuhi Kimiko. Yuhi?"

"Like Kurenai-sensei?" Sakura frowned. "If I remember correctly, the Yuhi are a small clan specializing in genjutsu."

"If that technique Fox used was genjutsu, I'd have seen through it," Sasuke muttered, "but if he applied the principle of genjutsu to another technique..."

'What technique? What do you mean?" Ino looked confused.

Sasuke's face twitched. If she hadn't known him so well, Sakura wouldn't have noticed. "Fox. When he possessed Sai," he sounded reluctant, but Sakura counted it as a victory, "he used a technique to... disorient me. He showed me memories."

"Memories? What sort of memories?" Ino asked, clearly not reading Sasuke's mood the way Sakura could.

"Bad memories," Sasuke snapped, and Sakura could see him shutting down before her eyes.

"What Sasuke means is that Fox seems to be able to project memories like you would a genjutsu," Sakura finished for him. "Do you know of anyone who can do that?"

Somewhere in the back of her mind, her instinct told her to sit up and take heed. Someone was coming. Sakura frowned and almost missed Ino's answer.

"It sounds intriguing, but no," Ino was saying, "Plenty of Yamanaka experiment with our secret technique, mind you, so for all I know Fox figured it out in secret. Is that why you thought of applying genjutsu to it? I guess that might work, but then they wouldn't be _memories_-"

"That's because they're _not_ memories," Kakashi-sensei suddenly interrupted, stepping into the room.

Sakura had felt Naruto and Kakashi's presence only moments before they entered the room. Judging by the way Sasuke rolled his eyes, he'd sensed them before that. Ino's wide eyes told a different story.

"What do you mean, not memories?" Sasuke drawled. "They seemed real enough."

Kakashi-sensei shook his head. He seemed almost eager. "What did he show you? What did he _really_ show you? Were they your memories, or something else?"

Sasuke's eyes went glassy. "I... No. They weren't my memories. If anything, they were Itachi's. But how could Fox have known...?"

Kakashi-sensei's eyes curled up at the corners. "Because whoever Fox is, he must have had access to our personal files. He's been _reading up on us_. Which means we can figure out who he is- because there are only so many people in the medical records department who _can actually access our personal files_."

* * *

**AN:**

**Please let me know what you think! This chapter was really hard to write.**

**The word count on this story is getting rather ridiculous. I also got my first troll comment, which was hilarious. **

**I think there's about five or six chapters left for this story! **


	22. One Step Ahead

**Chapter 22. One Step Ahead**

* * *

The rush through the archives seemed to last forever. Kakashi's legs felt limp with exhaustion, but he pushed on. This wasn't the time to allow himself a break, as much as he needed one: this was the time to strike and finally, _finally_, get one step ahead of Fox. Hell, if he got this right they could get so far ahead they could take a break and wave at Fox from a distance, if they wanted to.

The archives where medical personnel registration took place was in a different wing from where they'd been before, and was somehow even dustier and greyer. Even the guards and chunin secretaries posted in the archives themselves had a dull look in their eyes that suggested grey monotony.

One of the men, a middle-aged genin with a moustache who Kakashi vaguely remembered had participated in the same chunin exams as Naruto, led them to the back of the archives and pointed at a large row of filing cabinets. "It should be in there, Hokage-sama. We keep meticulous files, " he said.

Kakashi would usually think this particular moustachioed Konoha hero might have been better off as an accountant. Today, however, proved just how invaluable his work could be. Kakashi's team pressed on into the room and swarmed out, each taking a different filing cabinet to check.

Only Sasuke hesitated. "This isn't fast enough. Naruto, you should be tracking Fox's chakra, not-"

"_I know that, teme,_" Naruto growled, "but it's not exactly easy to find someone in the middle of the village with all those chakra signatures to filter through. Anyway, what will I do if I do catch him and he just goes and plays in someone else's head again? I'd just make things worse."

"And how on earth will having a name help with that?" Sasuke snapped back.

"There's somethin' else too," Naruto admitted after a moment, his shoulders slumping. "Kurama says he got a hold of the chakra signature, but that it's... I dunno, tainted I guess by the signature of whoever he possesses. It's like we got a portrait of him except someone decided to morph it with some random other dude. Which makes it a hell of a lot harder to actually identify him by it."

Sasuke balled his fists. "You're _kidding_."

"Is that why we're going after the name first?" Sakura asked.

"If we can find names we can narrow down our list of suspects as well as the amount of terrain we need to cover. That, and we've got a plan that requires having a name." Kakashi said, his own temper starting to rise. He forced a smile. "So sit down and make yourself useful, won't you?"

Sasuke lost some of the aggression in his eyes at the mention of a plan. Sakura looked up too, mouth half-opened and clearly eager to ask for more details, but one stern look from their former teacher was enough encouragement to get back to work.

Naruto squinted at one of the folders he was holding. Instead of a name, it had a number on top. "I don't get it. This isn't a name. What files should we be lookin' at?"

Kakashi groaned and looked at his own folder. "_Registration numbers. _Typical. They've sorted them by registration number rather than name. We need to look for who has had access to our files over the past few years. Each file comes with an intricate seal. If you want to unlock them, you need a chakra key. You only get one of those if you're a part of the Psychological Evaluation Team. Once you open one, the seal registers your presence. Ah-"

He pulled out a number of files and tossed them at his students. "It should be in here. The psych team is fairly large, but not everyone will have clearance to look into our files _now_\- but they may have had that clearance a couple of years ago, when we weren't as high-profile," he explained.

"So what do these psych people do, anyway?" Naruto asked.

"The psych team builds up a log of a shinobi's activity and performance on missions. Any occurrences noted in their mission reports that might lead to or indicate psychological issues is recorded. You'll also be able to find anyone's family history and status in these logs, should it be relevant," Sakura explained. "Should they see any red flags, they will report it to the Hokage, and the shinobi in question will receive some form of help- or be relieved of command."

"That's the idea, anyway," Kakashi mumbled, not without some rancour. The system was ineffective due to the huge lack of psychological expertise in the village- a Yamanaka could tell you exactly how to pick a mind apart, but not how to put it back together. Civilian psychologists could barely begin to understand shinobi experiences and often didn't bother to try- and the few shinobi specialists they had were completely overwhelmed by the number of patients since the war.

Never mind what the system had looked like _before _Tsunade and Kakashi had gotten their hands on it. All in all, the issue had been a major pain in the back for Kakashi for as long as he'd been Hokage- trying to reinvent the system even more so. As much as he didn't really want to, it did make him doubt the Sandaime sometimes- it seemed the man hailed as 'the God of Shinobi' had been as flawed as anyone else.

Still, the archives would come in handy today- and Kakashi was determined to make it work in the future, if he had one. There had to be some kind of safety net for shinobi to fall back on, should it be necessary. He knew better than most how important that was.

"Look for your own registration number and see who has accessed it," he told his students, shaking off his mood. He took a seat on a nearby chair and started digging through his own file. Because of that, he missed it when Naruto's squint turned into an uncomfortable grimace.

"Ahhh, err, about that, Kakashi-sensei...?" the boy started.

"Oh, for crying out loud!" Sakura reached out to slap Naruto on the head from where she'd been sitting. "Your number is 012607. Kakashi-sensei is 009720, Sasuke is 012606, and I'm 012601. If _I_ can remember it, why can't you?"

They all stared at her.

"Huh," Kakashi said.

Sakura turned red. "Oh, come on. I'm the team medic. I have to know these things. I know all of your blood types too."

Unsurprisingly, that didn't really comfort Naruto. He shivered a little. "Sakura-chan, your memory is _scary_."

Kakashi placed one hand on top of Naruto's head and turned his student back to his filing cabinet, ignoring his indignant squawk of protest. "Mahh, you'll be grateful if you ever find yourself bleeding to death," he muttered absently, already focusing on the task ahead. "Then again, Sakura and I are universal donors so you wouldn't have to worry too much to begin with."

Behind him, Sakura stopped rummaging through the filing cabinets for a moment before resuming, as if she'd stopped to think for a moment. Surprised Kakashi knew their blood types, maybe. As if that wasn't something every jounin instructor worth his salt had memorized on day one of being assigned their ickle little genin.

Moments later, Kakashi found Sakura's registration number, as well as the people who'd accessed it. Sakura's files had the lowest clearance level on the team- as jinchuuriki, former renegade and current Hokage respectively, Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi's files would be far more restricted. "I found yours," he told her, and tossed it into her lap. "He hasn't used your memories so far so we can't be sure, but it might be worth checking. Write down all the Yamanaka's who've had access to it."

"What if there's a Yamanaka who took their other parent's name?" Naruto piped up as he very nearly climbed into the cabinet to dig out another folder.

"They wouldn't. A clan name always takes precedence over a non-clan surname," Sasuke said, "Why do you think your name is Uzumaki instead of Namikaze?"

Naruto clearly hadn't thought about that before, if his nonplussed expression was anything to go by. He recovered quickly, though. "Then what if _both_ parents are from a clan, but not the same one?"

"Is this _really _the time, Naruto?" Sakura groaned.

"Mahh, I guess they'd have to fight each other on it," Kakashi said simultaneously, earning a glare from Sakura and a happy little 'oh! so that's how it works!' from Naruto. He pulled out another file.

"I've found the Uchiha clan," Sasuke announced quietly. "They only kept my file."

"Your family's files have been stored in the archives of deceased shinobi," Kakashi said quietly, moving over towards Sasuke to see the list of names.

Sasuke's frown deepened as they looked at the list. It named almost ten people, aside from Tsunade and the Sandaime, and most of them were likely unfamiliar to Sasuke.

"All of these people got to look at my life without my permission," Sasuke said quietly. "What on earth kind of policy is that?"

Kakashi's jaw clenched. In an attempt to distract Sasuke, he pointed at the dates. "Most of these access dates are from shortly after the massacre."

"A psychologist's field day," Sasuke said dryly, with more self-deprecation than Kakashi had thought him capable of.

"I remember this one," Sasuke pointed at the top name on the list: Yamanaka Kimiko. "She came to talk to me, afterwards. Tried to get me to open up." If his expression was anything to go by, she'd only been successful at annoying Sasuke.

By now, Naruto and Sakura had joined them as well. At Sasuke's confession, a stillness came over them very unlike their usual animated selves.

"What was it like?" Naruto asked quietly. "I mean- I can't really imagine but- was there anyone with you?"

Sasuke blinked sharply. "I-yes. Kimiko. And an ANBU team, for whatever reason."

"Yamanaka Kimiko... Why does that sound familiar?" Sakura suddenly asked. "It's something Ino said-"

"Fuu's mother," Sasuke said simultaneously, eyes widening. "Some woman named Yuhi Kimiko was Yamanaka Fuu's mother."

Kakashi swallowed. "Before we jump to any conclusions, let's look at the other names and see who's had access to my files. We could be wrong about this."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and the others seemed hesitant, but in the end they all agreed. Tracking down Kakashi's registration number in the archives took a bit longer. The list of people who'd had access to his files was, disconcertingly enough, even more impressive than Sasuke's had been.

Kakashi shrugged apologetically. "What can I say? Sasuke is not the only psychiatrist's field day in team Seven," he said dryly, earning him wry looks from his students.

Still, the list wasn't so long that it was hard to get through. Many of the names appeared several times as they went back to check in again. Kakashi even recognized some of the names, and suspected the identities of others- plenty of people had been interested in his mental state, after his father, and then again after Obito. The Uchiha clan had been _very_ eager to learn whether he hadn't just snapped and killed Obito himself to get at his eyes. That had been... an ugly episode. Then of course there had been the ANBU vetting process. Despite ANBU's reputation, they didn't _actually_ appreciate having uncontrollable homicidal maniacs in their ranks.

In the end, though, there were three Yamanaka names on the list. Surprisingly, Ino's father was one of them- he'd looked at Kakashi's files years ago, somewhere around the time they'd first started considering him for Hokage. That made sense- Inoichi would likely have shared what he had learned with the Hokage, Shikaku and the Council- but it didn't make Kakashi feel any better.

The second Yamanaka was one he knew was part of ANBU, an old veteran who'd died several years ago.

The third and final Yamanaka on the list was Yamanaka Kimiko.

Kakashi blinked. "...Right. I think we should also look at Genma and Sai's files. If they show the same results, we might be onto something."

Finding out their respective registration numbers proved to be a real pain in the ass, but once they finally had it took them mere moments to find the information they'd been looking for.

Sai and Genma's files hadn't been looked at as often as his or Sasuke's, but it was still undeniable. One Yamanaka Kimiko had had access to both.

"Well then," Kakashi sat back and ran a hand through his hair. "It seems we need to find out more about this Kimiko."

* * *

The male half of Kakashi's little gang stayed behind in the archives. They'd be heading towards the Yamanaka compound soon to try and figure out if they could find Fox. It was a long shot, as Naruto had already explained, but a 'morphed' chakra signature was better than none at all. Sasuke seemed relieved to be doing something more practical.

Kakashi and Sakura, in the meantime, had headed to the one woman who knew the Yuhi better than anyone else. Kurenai had been involved in intel in the early days of her career, and as a part of the Yuuhi clan she had a decent idea of who its members were.

Kurenai blinked at them from the doorway. "Ah- well. It's not every day the two of you come to visit me. To what do I owe the...honour?"

To her credit, she only hesitated a little bit. _Credit_, because it was getting late and Kakashi and Sakura weren't exactly common visitors. Kakashi shifted on his feet, uncomfortably aware she had a two-year old in the apartment. Still, they had to try. "I'm sorry for the intrusion. We've come across something interesting that you might be able to help us with."

Keen as she was, Kurenai didn't need him to say it out loud to know that this was about Fox. Her eyes sharpened into crimson steel, and her mouth thinned. "Come on in," she said.

When Kakashi asked her about Yuuhi Kimiko, however, she seemed briefly stumped. "Kimiko... I don't know. You say she married a Yamanaka?"

"Yamanaka Shou, yes. They had a son, Fuu, who died in the war."

"Yes. That does sound familiar," Kurenai frowned, and stood up. "My aunt is the current clan leader. I've helped her out with issues once or twice. I have some files. A census of sorts."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Issues?" He repeated. From what he knew, the Yuuhi was a small, tight-knit clan. It seemed unlikely there would be issues.

"There's about twenty of us, these days," Kurenai said, as she rummaged through a closet. "We're an old clan, we've declined in number over the years. Still, any family has spats now and then- we're no exception."

"So you mediate?" Sakura asked carefully. She could still be a bit careful around Kurenai sometimes, as if Kurenai was still her friends' teacher, rather than her colleague of equal rank.

"Yes, essentially. Now, Kimiko, on the other hand... Yes. I've got her here." She came back holding a book, its covers marked with beautiful swirls that were only just recognizable as seals. She tapped a line with an immaculately manicured finger nail.

"There. Yuuhi Kimiko. She's my mother's generation, roughly," Kurenai said, "She died two-and-a-half years ago."

"Three years?" Kakashi blinked. "Around the same time as her son, then."

Kurenai nodded. "She started out as a chunin but specialized as psychologist in her later years. She was good, too- very insightful. I met her a few times myself, and I remember her to be a very conscientious woman. It's hard to believe her son would be in ROOT."

"They say she died of a broken heart. Her poor husband... he was hit particularly hard. Most people expected him to follow her example," Kurenai finished.

Kakashi nodded thoughtfully. "Unfortunately all of ROOT's documentation was destroyed after Danzou's death. If there _was_ anything left, it was blown up along with their old compound. We don't know how or why Fuu was recruited. ROOT usually went for orphans, as far as I know."

He sighed and leaned over the table, stapling his hands together. "So this Kimiko... Can you see any way she might have leaked information to ROOT?"

Kurenai looked uneasy. "I don't know. Historically speaking, I don't think the Yuuhi were ever affiliated with ROOT. But then most of us didn't know ROOT existed at all. If she _was_ in cahoots with them it would at least explain why their son became a member. But it seems so unlikely, and Fuu... Fuu was an unusual boy."

"How so?" Sakura asked.

"He was a bit odd even as a toddler," Kurenai said, frowning, "A clever boy, but not very sociable. _Very_ disciplined, though. And skilled, too. Far more skilled than either of his parents ever were."

"Do you know what their bond was like? Fuu and his parents?" Kakashi asked.

Kurenai hesitated, then shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't know them well enough for that."

Kakashi sighed. "Right. Well, thank you-

A loud wail from the next room interrupted him.

Kurenai stood up. "I'm sorry. She doesn't always sleep through the night. I should check up on her."

Kakashi nodded. A moment later, Kurenai entered the room again, bouncing Mirai in her arms. The little girl's face was tear-streaked and ruddy, pulling even at Kakashi's hardened heartstrings. She was a precious little thing.

"See? There's nothing to be worried about," Kurenai cooed at her daughter. "I suspect she senses chakra sometimes. When people she doesn't know very well come into the house it disturbs her sometimes."

Next to him, Sakura shifted in her seat. "That would be me, I guess..." she said. "We haven't really met, have we, Mirai-chan?"

The three-year old gave her a shy look. Then her eyes landed on Kakashi, and she stuck out a sticky little hand. " 'Kashi," she muttered. Kakashi smiled at her, but Mirai only snuggled up more closely to her mother, hiding her face in her mother's hair.

"Kakashi, would it be alright if I inform you of any further findings about Kimiko later?" Kurenai asked, giving him an apologetic look. "Mirai really needs to get some sleep."

"Of course. We're sorry for disturbing you," Kakashi got up. "I think we already have all we need, but if you do find anything, let me know as soon as you can. I don't want to give Fox too much time to rest and plan, or whatever it is evil masterminds do."

Kurenai and Sakura cracked a smile.

"Well, goodnight, then. And good luck. Both of you," Kurenai said as they left for the door.

The air outside was cool and crisp, and Kakashi gratefully sucked it into his lungs. He felt uncomfortably hot, and he couldn't get as much air into his lungs as he wanted to, but the crisp air lessened the burning in his throat.

Sakura eyed him uncertainly. "Are you okay, sensei?"

He nodded. "I'm alright. But..."

"We don't have much time left, do we?" Sakura finished for him.

Kakashi sighed and looked up. Up above, the night sky was speckled with stars. "Probably not," he admitted.

Sakura bent her head so her bangs covered her face. Kakashi looked at her curiously, but he couldn't tell what expression she was making. After a moment, she looked back up and whatever emotion had been there was replaced by determination.

"Okay. So we keep moving. What do you think we learned about Kimiko, just now?"

Kakashi smiled faintly. Bless her courage. "We know Kimiko looked at my files, as well as Sasuke's, Sai's and Genma's. We have reason to believe _Fox_ has had access to these files. Kimiko is the only common denominator. So how-" he paused. Stopped. Thought it over again.

There was another option. Fuu was ROOT. Kimiko _might _have been ROOT. There _was_ someone else these files all had in common. Kakashi breathed in sharply. "Sakura- we need to find Naruto. _Now._"

* * *

Naruto frowned. Kurama steering his body felt a bit like dreaming: he could still control his own actions if he really focused, but it was much easier to just drift along and allow things to unfold. As it was, Kurama had found a rooftop near the Yamanaka district to perch on and was now gathering nature chakra in order to enter sage mode.

As more and more nature chakra began to filter in, Naruto became increasingly aware of the other living beings around him. It wasn't just human beings who had chakra: animals did too, and even some particularly old trees. Those weren't as common in the villages, but he could feel the forest surrounding it buzzing at the edge of his awareness like an old but vigilant force.

Human beings had the most vibrant chakra, of course. Particularly shinobi, whose chakra signatures were usually marked by a colour and a structure to separate them from all others. Sasuke's was close by, all purple and intimidating. Most of the Yamanaka's chakra signatures were much lighter, both in colouring and tone, but there was a certain insidiousness to them that he couldn't help but associate with their mind invasion techniques.

It had never really occurred to him in the past just how terrifying those techniques really were.

In his mind, Kurama snorted. _You only just figured out it's scary that someone could rive around your head if they chose to do it?_

Naruto scowled. "_I never had to fight anyone with that ability before,"_ he argued.

Kurama chuckled. _Fair enough. That thing you said about the chakra signatures morphing... What would you say Fox's chakra felt like?_

_"Don't you know?" _Naruto returned.

_Just_ _humour me, would ya?_

_"Alright, alright. It felt very... on edge, I guess. Sharp, agitated. And pale yellow in colour." _Naruto wanted to get up and pace, but as it was he could only watch as Kurama stayed seated, his eyes closed and fists pressed together.

_And well-developed, wouldn't you say? An older shinobi_.

"_Yeah. though we kind of already knew that bit," _Naruto thought.

_This is going to be like finding a needle in a hay-stack. He ain't the first Yamanaka with a yellow signature, and if he's relaxed right now his chakra's bound to feel different anyway. Did you think there was anything that made it unique?_

Naruto opened his mouth to answer the question, but found that he couldn't. Usually there'd be something to tick him off: even when Sasuke was perfectly calm, his chakra could still be distinguished easily from other purple fire-affinity signatures. He was having a hard time pinning down what it was that actually _distinguished_ it from those other things, though.

Before he could find an answer, a sharp cry interrupted his thoughts. Hyuuga Hinata, her Byakugan firing on all cylinders, was yelling at him as she raced towards them.

Naruto's eyes shot open as he forced Kurama to the back of his mind once more, and he got to his feet. "Hinata? What's going on?" He said, the sheepish smile that had appeared on his face at seeing her quickly turning into a frown at her obvious distress.

Sasuke whirled on him. "What are you doing-"

"I just got word from my sister," Hinata panted, interrupting Sasuke, "The Western outpost is under attack! They've requested back-up, but there's no way anyone in the village will be able to reach them in time."

"Except for us," Naruto guessed. What timing.

Hinata nodded. "That's why I came- please- they're _dying_ out there, and no one can help them!"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Who are the attackers?" He asked.

"I-I don't know. Hanabi-chan wasn't sure, either. But she's _out there_, Naruto, _please_\- we have to help her!"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and flared to life, turning the world into a kaleidoscope of colour.

Naruto followed his example, although he felt slightly guilty about it. He had to check whether it was really her. A moment later he could sense her matte purple chakra-signature curling round and round in clear agitation. It really was her.

Naruto ached to help her, as well as Hanabi- he didn't know the little girl very well yet, but she was spunky, and anyway she was important to Hinata.

But catching Fox was important, too.

"It's a distraction," Sasuke told Naruto, "We can't go there without losing track of Fox."

Naruto looked back and forth between him and Hinata, torn between the two. "But they'll _die_ if I don't go. I _have_ to go. Kakashi-sensei would do the same, you can't tell me otherwise."

"Don't you see this is Fox's doing?" Sasuke hissed, "he wants you to go so we lose his trail. He wants to buy time."

Naruto hesitated, just for a moment. Then he shook his head. "Distraction or not, I can't just let them die. We _will_ find Fox- but we'll also protect our villagers."

Not for the first time, Sasuke looked like he wanted to take Naruto's head and ram it into a nearby wall. Something in Naruto's stomach twisted. Going now could endanger Kakashi-sensei, but not doing anything would endanger far more lives. If there was anything Kakashi-sensei had made clear over the last few years, it's that he wouldn't appreciate being saved at the expense of dozens of others.

Naruto turned away from Sasuke, mind made up. Golden chakra flared in the darkness as he prepared to put on some speed.

Sasuke caught him by the arm. "If you go now, we'll _never_ find Fox."

"But would you be able to live with yourself knowing you could have saved those lives, but _didn't_?" Naruto retorted, his honest blue eyes drilling into Sasuke's.

"And what if it's just a distraction while Fox's ROOT goes and blows up the entire village?" Sasuke bit back.

"Uchiha has a point," Kurama suddenly growled, painting Naruto's eyes red and pushing Naruto back down into the bowels of their shared mental space.

"Oi!" Naruto's face contorted and a moment later blue chased the red away once more. "Don't take over without my permission! Hinata, how bad is it? How many of them are there? What's their level?"

"I don't know, she didn't specify," Hinata said, teeth worrying at her lip. "But if they're in trouble, it's likely to be a large group of high-level shinobi."

Naruto closed his eyes. "Kurama... can you sense them?"

In seconds, Kurama returned to the sensory state they'd entered moments before. The Konoha outposts were located on the outskirts of the forest, miles and miles away from here. They were watch posts of a sort, intended to warn Konoha of impending danger hours before it could actually arrive. These days, outpost duty was considered the most boring job available to a shinobi.

Actually being able to sense the chakra signatures of one of the outposts was way out of Naruto's league, but Kurama, with his greater experience and massive natural chakra reserves, could just about manage it. When he did sense objects that far away, Naruto could no longer share the experience, so he waited patiently until Kurama finished.

"A group of ten, I'd say," the demon growled. "All of them ANBU level at least. They're outnumbered but they're quickly overwhelming them. Naruto, they might be Fox's bunch. Perhaps it's worth going after them, after all."

Between Hinata's pleading eyes and Kurama's suggestion, that was all it took to convince Naruto. Moments later, he flashed through the air in the direction of Konoha's outpost, ready to save lives.

Sasuke stayed behind and glowered.

* * *

**AN: **

**I'm not super happy with this chapter. It was very hard to write, because it feels very much like a transition between two different parts of the story. That said, things should get more exciting from here on out! Kakashi got a huge clue. Can you guess what it is?**

**Turns out I'd actually written another version of last chapter's scene with Rin almost a year ago- a version that was actually way more graphic, but also more emotional as a consequence. I weep for that piece of text that got lost because of... well... my forgetfulness. **


	23. Manifesto

**Chapter 23.** **Manifesto**

* * *

**Warning for a discussion about suicide. This... got way more intense than I had originally planned. Ha. Like every conversation I write for this story. I'm a bit nervous about this chapter. Hope you like it.**

* * *

Golden chakra hurtled through the air and grabbed one of the outpost's attackers, squeezing until Naruto felt ribs crack under the pressure. Narrowing his eyes in concentration, Naruto created another clone and launched it at his brand new captive so it could seal the man up.

Side-stepping a vicious burst of wind chakra, Naruto released his first captive and launched himself at the outpost's main tower, where another of Fox's cloaked men had attacked him from. They exchanged a flurry of blows before Naruto slipped through the man's defense with sheer speed, and sucker-punched him in the stomach. The man lost consciousness immediately, so Naruto caught him and tossed him at a clone, who reached for his sealing scroll.

The moment Naruto had heard about the attack on the outpost, he'd wanted to follow his instincts and go to the rescue. Once he'd left Sasuke far enough behind, however, he'd made a clone and sent it on to Kakashi, informing him of the situation and asking for advice.

Kakashi's orders had been pretty simple: keep them busy for as long as you can. The moment Naruto had arrived, he'd ordered the outpost's guards to keep out of his way and retreat to the tower. Seeing him glow brightly with chakra more powerful than they could even imagine, they'd wisely followed his orders. That made Naruto's life a heck of a lot easier.

_"This attack is a distraction. Fox knows we're on to him- he's on the run, he needs rest but can't get it. That's why he sends out his men to distract us. It's an obvious ruse_," Kakashi had said only hours before. "_Whatever he'll do next, he'll rush into it because he knows we're not going to give him a lot of time. He'll anticipate that we won't fall for the distraction, but he'll bank on our unwillingness to let our comrades at the outpost rot. And that's when we strike._"

Naruto tried not to grin as he side-stepped a punch, caught his attacker by the elbow, and flipped him over. Of course he couldn't keep the ruse up forever, but perhaps he could do it long enough to matter.

After all, all they really needed for Kakashi's plan to succeed at this point, was for Fox to attack one person in particular.

Another of Fox's agents bravely engaged him. She was fast, using some peculiar mixture of martial arts that reminded him of Killer Bee's eclectic fighting style, so he indulged her. It was hard not to grin. Fighting like this was f_un_, and he wasn't in any sort of rush, after all. The more time he gave Fox, the better-

Agony suddenly blossomed across his back. He cried out in pain- a kunai? Shuriken? Blood began to trickle from the wound.

Well, not like it really mattered. This time, Naruto did grin.

Then, he poofed out of existence.

Back in Konoha, one of Kakashi's ANBU detail suddenly clutched at his head. Behind the mask, the real Naruto grinned. It seemed it was all going as well as could be expected, given the circumstances.

Kakashi, who'd been sprawled on his couch, gave him a funny look. "I have some advil if you have a headache."

Naruto shook his head. _Hardly_. "How much longer do you think we have to wait?" he asked instead. "I already know where Fox is." After all, he'd had plenty of time to do so while his clone did it out in the open to distract Fox and his men.

"Mahh... the moment he makes his next move. I doubt it will be long." Kakashi replied. "Now, go and be a good ANBU guard, and run some patrols for me. I think I'm about to receive a visitor."

* * *

Hardly an hour after Naruto had left for the outpost, Sasuke was thoroughly confused. Before leaving, Naruto had stopped and turned around, given Sasuke a grin and said, "Just trust us, would you?"

And with that, he'd left.

Not for the first time, Sasuke was fighting the urge to chase after Naruto and smack him over the head. Or bash it in. Either option worked. Kakashi could probably do with the same treatment, come to think of it.

For now though, he could pick up where Naruto left off. Regardless of what his friend might have thought, Sasuke was not about to choose a bunch of random strangers over one of the few people he actually liked.

He waited a few minutes to formulate a plan in his mind, and then set off to find Kakashi. He was not a good enough sensor to do what Naruto was supposed to do, but he could be useful elsewhere. First, he'd warn Kakashi. Then, he'd go and find Sakura. She was more likely to tell him what the two idiots in their team were planning than Kakashi himself, who clung to his secrets like an overgrown limpet.

He found Kakashi in the Hokage tower, napping on the couch. Icha Icha covered his face. With every steady breath he took, the novel shivered and came just a tiny bit closer to falling off the man's face.

_Unbelievable_. The entire world was burning (well, metaphorically speaking anyway), and here the focus of everyone's attention was taking a bloody _nap_.

For a moment, Sasuke only stared. Then, he kicked the couch. Kakashi's body jack-knifed and Icha Icha tumbled to the floor. In a split-second Sasuke saw Kakashi assess the threat (former student, ally, no danger) and then lunge after Icha Icha, catching it just in time to save his page.

"Phew. That was close," the man gave Sasuke a ridiculous, completely out of place smile.

"What the hell are you doing?" Sasuke asked. He made to cross his arms across his chest before remembering he couldn't actually do so. That only ticked him off more, so he decided to give the couch another kick for good measure.

"Sasuke. What has my poor couch ever done to you?" Kakashi said, placing a hand on his chest.

"You mean aside from being a pain to look at?"

"That's it. Apologize to couch-san."

"Kakashi. I'm serious. Why are you just hanging around? The outpost is being attacked, and we only have a narrow window to catch Fox! What the hell are we still doing here?" Sasuke snapped.

Kakashi gave him a look. When Sasuke didn't respond, his expression fell. "I was going for an enigmatic smile, but I just can't seem to pull it off," he said despondently. "Did you see Naruto?"

Sasuke huffed and began to pace the room. Something in his chest seemed to expand. His head felt overcrowded. More than anything, he wanted to burn something. "Yes. We found out about the outpost together. That Hyuuga heir warned us."

"Hinata, huh? No wonder he went..."

"Why aren't you angry? He just left! He's the one person who could track Fox down right now!" The fire grew.

Kakashi dropped back down onto the couch. Even with the mask, Sasuke could see he was smiling. "Mahh, because I know more than you do. And I have a name."

"Of course you have a na-" Sasuke stopped himself as it clicked. "You have Fox's name?"

Kakashi folded his hands behind his head and smiled at Sasuke. "I might do."

"Stop being a cryptic bastard and tell me!"

"No."

"Why the hell not?"

"It would ruin the-"

"If you're about to say 'surprise'-"

"-surprise."

Sasuke kicked the couch again.

His inner turmoil must have been showing on his face, because Kakashi's expression finally turned serious again. "Sasuke- I realize this is frustrating, but you have to trust me. If we rush this, we won't-"

"If we don't rush it, you'll die!" Sasuke exploded, the frustration and fear that he'd tried so hard to suppress all rushing to the surface.

For a moment, neither of them moved. Kakashi's eyes were wide with surprise.

"You'll die, and it's like you don't even care," Sasuke continued. "And that's killing Naruto and Sakura, can't you tell? It's killing them, and still you make jokes and pull shit like this, lying around on a couch while we're fighting for you to stay alive and-"

"-Sasuke."

"It's not fair! The war is over! Akatsuki is gone! The filthy council is gone. Why are there always people like Fox?"

By the end of his tirade, he was breathing hard. Even the embarrassment over how obviously he was also talking about himself when he referred to Naruto and Sakura couldn't drown out the overwhelming need to do something. Anything.

As long as it wasn't watching Kakashi cheerfully walk towards his own death.

Sasuke wasn't done yet. "I looked into your files. I know what happened to your father. I know people who see that kind of shit are statistically more likely to do it themselves. Is this how you want to do it, then?"

Kakashi seemed awfully pale and small, sitting on that couch. He was still staring at Sasuke, eyes wide, but now there was something vulnerable in his expression that Sasuke had never seen there before.

Sasuke threw himself down on the stupid couch. Kakashi only just pulled his legs away in time. Damn it, Sasuke was practically hyperventilating. His chest felt narrow and tight, as if Killer Bee had done a number on him again.

It was not unlike how he'd felt when he'd read _Hatake Sakumo, deceased, aged thirty-seven. Cause of death: suicide. _

_Body found by subject._

His own file contained that little line, too.

He dropped his head to hide his expression from Kakashi. "Don't drag us into it if you want to die. You'll break them," he said quietly.

When Kakashi finally spoke up his voice sounded careful, as if he was about to ask Sasuke a personal question. "Why did you look into my files?"

Sasuke shrugged. He was probably supposed to feel worse about breaching Kakashi's privacy than he actually did. "Yesterday. In the archives. I went back and found your file. "

"Why? Why would you-"

"Because I was curious. And you never talk."

Kakashi let out a breathy laugh. It didn't sound amused at all. "Aside from how hypocritical- what a breach of confidence- no. Never mind that. Sasuke, look at me."

Sasuke wasn't sure why, but he did.

Kakashi leaned forward and looked him straight in the eyes. "Sasuke, I don't want to die. What happened to my father was-" He stopped himself and looked away briefly, "It was horrific, and I would never put anyone else-"

Kakashi looked away again, blinking rapidly. "I won't do that to you. Not even if I wanted to. Please trust in that."

Some invisible weight lifted off of Sasuke's chest.

For some reason, Kakashi began to laugh. "God, what is it with you three... prying. You want to know everything and I'm not sure why. Every conversation turns into some kind of accusation-" he cut himself off and dropped his head.

Naruto would have said 'because we care!' by now. Sakura would have... Sasuke wasn't sure what she would have done. Maybe she'd have said that too. He imagined her green eyes filling with tears as she did. Sasuke couldn't bring himself to say anything remotely true to the whirlwind of thoughts churning through his mind, so he didn't try.

"You're in charge of protecting this village. You shouldn't die," he said instead. It came out cold and stand-off-ish, but Kakashi seemed to understand anyway.

He relaxed a little. That strange emptiness that had entered his eyes when he talked about his father left again. "I'm sorry, Sasuke. I should have been clearer. I have a name, and we are doing something. I promise you. But I can't tell you what it is without ruining it. You'll just have to trust us."

"Us. I guess Sakura and Sai are in on it too," Sasuke looked down at his fist where it lay clenched in his lap.

"What? No, why would they- oh. No, Sasuke, no. It's not like that. It's just Naruto and I, and only because- oh, you'll see. I can't tell you yet. But you have to trust us. Just as you'll have to trust me that I'm not out to... to die. I don't want to. I really don't."

Sasuke looked at him again, and it was as if he could finally see the fear in Kakashi's eyes that had been missing for the past few days. Kakashi was scared. The man who'd barely even flinched in the face of Kaguya Otsutsuki despite being vastly outclassed, half-blind and running out of chakra, was scared.

Somehow, that was more of a relief to Sasuke than any of the things Kakashi had said.

"So. What can I do?"

Kakashi blinked at him. "What can you do?"

"For this mystery plan of yours. If it's Naruto's plan, it's bound to be crazy. If it's yours, it'll be ridiculously overcomplicated. So what can I do?"

Kakashi looked offended for a moment, but he quickly got over it. "Well... actually... Can you still recognize chakra patterns with your Rinnegan...?"

* * *

An hour after Sasuke left, Naruto slunk out of the shadows again. "Sensei- I think we might have a problem."

"Hmm? What is it?" Kakashi looked up from his desk. It was getting harder to focus on anything, and truth be told, he really wanted to take another nap. It seemed that that was all he wanted to do, these days. Not much time left...

Naruto held out a sheet of paper. It was printed on cheap paper, the kind usually used for mission reports. Kakashi took it. Both sides were covered in text. Kakashi began to read.

For a few minutes, the world seemed to stand still. Kakashi felt light-headed and faintly nauseous, but he knew he had to make a decision. "He's made his move, then," He said tiredly. He placed the paper on his desk. "Did he spread it around?"

Naruto nodded. "It's everywhere. I set a bunch of clones on taking them down, but loads of people are reading them. D'you think...?"

"Yeah," Kakashi sighed. "Yeah. It's time."

He looked up at Naruto again, and managed a faint smile. "For what it's worth, Naruto...? I'm sorry for not believing in you before. I'm... going to do better."

Naruto blinked at him. His surprise fell away into a bright grin. "No worries, sensei. This mission alone proves it. I'll ace it, for sure!"

"Very well. Let's do it, then. Operation Cuckoo's Nest is on its way!"

If Fox could have seen them, he might have felt nervous as Konoha's trickiest minds grinned at each other over Kakashi's desk..

* * *

After finding Naruto's clone, Sakura had gone back to Tsunade's lab. They still had a code to crack, after all. Or, well, a seal to write. They were pretty damn close to finding the solution, but Sakura had the feeling Tsunade was holding back on something. The older woman seemed almost absent-minded, and spent half her time walking in and out of the lab reading documents from other countries.

It was starting to get to Sakura, and she was currently in the midst of strengthening her resolve. Sure, Tsunade-sama was the scariest woman alive when she was interrupted, but surely Sakura could risk asking her what on earth she was up to? Preferably without becoming the target for whatever sharp objects Tsunade could find in the vicinity?

Sakura was still pondering the subject when Ino suddenly burst into the laboratory. Sakura bit her own cheek in annoyance. "Ino, you can't just barge in. This is a _lab_-"

As she turned, she saw that Ino's hair was in disarray, her usually artfully combed bang frizzy and sticking to her face. There were bumps in the hair pulled back across her scalp, too, as though she'd been in a hurry when she made her ponytail.

"Sakura- _look_-" Ino said, and pushed a piece of paper into Sakura's hands. It seemed to be some sort of pamphlet. Pushing away her own annoyance, Sakura looked at it.

At first, seeing a pamphlet with what looked like an official document printed on it puzzled Sakura- but it hardly explained Ino's response. "Ino, I don't understand-"

"Read it," Ino whispered. "Just read it, Sakura. _Oh, _that poor-" Ino cut herself off with a hand over her mouth. Her eyes took on that glassy sheen that told Sakura she was on the verge of crying.

Sakura returned to the document. The moment she started to read, her stomach began to roll.

Before her lay the document that ordered one Uchiha Itachi to massacre his own clan.

_Mission objective: the eradication of any and all living Uchiha clan members with the exception of Uchiha Sasuke to prevent a coup d'état. The safe getaway of the agent, who is to function as spy and report directly to the Sandaime Hokage .  
Agent: Uchiha Itachi.  
Signed: Utatane Koharu, Himura Danzou, Mitokado Homura. _

Sakura gasped. "But how- why is this here? Ino, how the hell did you get this?"

"It's everywhere," Ino cried out. "Someone's spread it all over town. It's pinned to the walls, to doors, even the mission board. ANBU has already started taking them down, but so many people- so many people have read it. I think it was Fox, but Sakura, _is it true?_ Did they really order Sasuke's brother...?"

The world stopped spinning. Itachi's greatest secret, revealed to the entire village. She couldn't even imagine what Sasuke would feel once he found out about this. She checked the top of the page: it was marked by a diamond-shape. _Fox's_ crest. So he'd had access to this file too, somehow.

Perhaps Yamanaka Kimiko had shared more of her findings with Fox than they had anticipated.

"Yes," Sakura said slowly. She felt dizzy. "It is true. Obito told Sasuke, Naruto and Sensei... Then they told me. The Uchiha were planning a coup. Danzou suggested Itachi stop the coup by killing them all. I didn't know there were documents to..."

"To prove it? I can't believe it. That Sandaime-sama would allow for such a thing to happen. I thought he was better than that!"

"No, Ino, don't you see? Sandaime didn't order Itachi, he just-"

"Stood by and did nothing!" Ino snapped. "He allowed them to do this, and then profited off Itachi's back! How is that any better?"

"Profited off his back? What do you mean?"

Ino pushed the manifest back at Sakura, her face contorted in a grimace. "There's more. Read it."

Sakura turned back to the paper. On the back of the official mission report was another text, longer and more detailed. Sakura felt nauseous. She wasn't sure she wanted to read it at all, but she had to. This was what Fox had been planning to do all along. Whatever was in there would be crucial information.

_And there you have it, one of Konohagakure's many dirty little secrets. The Uchiha clan was massacred, man, woman and child, in order to supposedly stop a coup from taking place. Or could it be that the Uchiha were simply inconvenient, as they refused to adhere to Sandaime's naive perspective on the world and his Senju-influenced style of governing? A style that preached pacifism but allowed an entire clan to be segregated from the village?_

_Senju Hashirama is, without a doubt, one of the greatest men who has ever graced our village. However, he lived a long time ago. Is it right for us to still be forced to live by his archaic and naive notions of misguided pacifism and hypocrisy? The Hokages of more recent times still claim to follow Hashirama's path, but is this really what we should wish for?_

_Was it not his brother who led us into the first and second Great Ninja Wars, wars that have cost so many of us our childhoods, our parents, our grandparents? Our siblings, our lovers, our teammates? Even our children?_

Sakura paused. It was almost as if she could hear Fox's voice inside her mind, cracking with the pain of it. She read on.

_Was it not the Sandaime who led us into the Third Ninja War, one of the bloodiest of them all? A war that we gained nothing from, other than lives lost and minds and bodies broken. Was it not Sandaime who was too weak and blind to see what was happening under his very own nose, allowing for the murder of our own closest allies, the Uchiha? Imagine the suffering of these people, who had been falsely accused, separated and isolated from the village despite all the blood they had shed for Konoha. This was Konoha's gratitude: a dead clan, and its last remaining sons condemned as murderers and traitors._

_What of Yondaime, whose own student brought the world to its knees? It was Yondaime, after all, who failed his own team, and the Rokudaime whose involvement with the death of Nohara Rin led directly to the creation of the monster we know as Uchiha Obito, the man who nearly killed us all. _

_This is how shinobi like Uchiha Itachi came to is how shinobi like Uchiha Obito created Akatsuki. Fallible men burdened with too many responsibilities failed them_

_The line of Hokages has been passed down from teacher to student throughout the decades. Each Hokage chose only from the pool of shinobi most familiar to him or her- and thus far, a pool consisting only of shinobi with a direct relation to one of the previous Hokage's. This nepotistic system allows for no innovation- only for straw head politicians who perpetuate the previous generation's faulty ideals and corrupt morals._

_Now imagine a Konoha where power lies not in the hands of the strongest man, but in the hands of the wisest. Imagine a Konoha led not by one but ten. Imagine a Konoha that no longer makes mistakes-_

Sakura had to stop reading. Fox continued for a few more paragraphs. "And he wants to achieve this by _murdering_ everyone?" she said incredulously. "Other people try petitioning first! It's pure propaganda, half of this probably isn't even true!"

Ino eyed her warily. "I won't pretend I agree with everything he's saying... But what if he's right? What if Konoha is keeping even more secrets from us? And who's to say that the Yamanaka won't be next if we decide we don't agree with what Kakashi-sama is doing-"

Sakura whirled on her friend. "Kakashi-sensei would _never_ give such an order, and you know it!" She couldn't believe her own best friend would even suggest such a thing.

Ino had the grace to look faintly embarrassed. "Okay. But he didn't stop Fox from killing the council members either, did he? Or from destroying ANBU HQ? What if someone decides to kill us and he can't stop them, or he just doesn't notice until it's already happened? How is one man supposed to keep an eye on everything? Maybe Fox has a point. Maybe... I don't know. This is difficult."

"What if _what?_ Don't you trust Sensei? Didn't you trust Tsunade-shishou? They work their hands to the bone for us, day in and day out. They have fought for this village all their lives. Don't they deserve our trust?" Sakura snapped back. "And it's not fair to say he can't stop Fox, when it was Fox who poisoned him."

Sakura froze. " That's what Ox meant. He said they were going to make Kakashi-sensei look bad. All of that was preparation for _this_," she said, hitting the pamphlet. She really, really wanted to rip it apart.

Ino frowned at her. "What are you saying?" she said, but Sakura barely heard her as her eyes skimmed through the remainder of the pamphlet.

_Instead of placing power in a single person, let it be divided amongst a group of people who are both knowledgeable and desire the best for their people. Let it be the clan heads who lead the village, not men led by the past._

_Konoha, do not let the corrupt lead you! Stand against the likes of Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, who encouraged the slaughter of your own people! Challenge the likes of Hatake Kakashi, whose secret past led directly to the creation of Akatsuki! Rise up against nepotism, and demand the truth hidden by Konoha's throne! _

"That's it," she breathed quietly.

"_What_ is?"

"Fox wants to destroy the office of Hokage, and replace it with an entirely new system," Sakura leaned back in her chair.

"That is what it says," Ino said carefully. "It does seem strange... But maybe it's not such a bad idea. Maybe if the village isn't led by a single person-"

"But we _trust_ this person. The Hokage is not some random villager," Sakura said fiercely. "The Hokage is someone we all know and trust. It's _different_."

"People make mistakes... It's not that I don't trust them, or don't want a Hokage, but..."

Sakura got up from her seat. "But you doubt them. You doubt Kakashi-sensei, and now you doubt all the past Hokage's too, is that it?"

"Sakura, be reasonable-"

Blood rushed to Sakura's face. "I _am_ being reasonable. I'm going to see Kakashi-sensei. He has to see this. Whatever the flaws of this system, he has to get a say in the matter."

"What on earth are you two chattering about?" Tsunade asked, entering the room with her eyes still glued to the research paper in her hands.

Sakura took a deep breath, got up, and gave Tsunade the pamphlet. She and Ino waited as their teacher's honey-brown eyes flitted over the paper. With every line she read, Tsunade's eyebrows furrowed deeper. Tsunade's chakra began to grow agitated until it filled the very room with its presence, like the cloying air before a thunderstorm.

When Tsunade finished, she threw the paper to the ground and smashed her fist into the nearest wall with a wordless scream. "_That little shit! How DARE HE! I'm _going to wring his neck myself!" She shouted, stamping on the pamphlet for good measure. "That was _top secret!_ There's a bloody good reason we don't share that with the public. DAMN HIM!"

She turned on Sakura. "Does Kakashi know about this- this- rubbish?"

"I-I was going to tell him. But I'm sure someone else will get there before I do-"

"Yes- _I will_," Tsunade fumed, and stormed out of the room without any further comment. "It's about time we catch that rat bastard!"

_Fox_ bastard, if anything, Sakura thought unhelpfully. Abandoning her work and her friend with a wary look, she followed her mentor through the hospital. Anyone who saw Tsunade coming quickly dodged her path- Sakura even saw Shizune approach them from another hallway, mouth already open to speak, only to do a U-turn and pretend she hadn't seen them when she caught on to Tsunade's foul mood. The storm had burst loose, and Tsunade's chakra crackled in the air around her. Anyone foolish to try and stop her now would get what they deserved.

Once they'd left the hospital, Tsunade picked up the pace. Together, the two medics raced through the village and towards the Hokage tower. Sakura could already pick out Kakashi-sensei's silhouette behind the windows, head bent as if he was reading something. Another man stood beside him- ANBU, probably, given the featureless head. They seemed to be discussing something, and then the ANBU nodded and leapt away. Sakura and Tsunade entered the Tower, so she didn't see where the ANBU went.

Judging from Kakashi-sensei's grave expression, he already knew what was going on. "Tsunade-"

"_Please_ tell me you have a lead on this guy," Tsunade snarled, throwing the remnants of the pamphlet on his desk. In her rage, she'd crumpled the hateful thing up into a ball.

Kakashi-sensei's expression lightened into a smug smile. "I have. Don't worry about it. In fact, we were just on our way."

" 'We'? Wait, you know who Fox is? You're going after him?" Tsunade spluttered. This... wasn't quite the reception she'd undoubtedly expected.

Kakashi-sensei grinned weirdly- not with his eyes, as he usually did, but widely, behind the mask. "Yeah. We'll get him now. K-Naruto and I had a deal. We would make our move the moment Fox did."

He opened one of the windows and leapt onto the balcony with more ease than she'd seen him use in the past few days. "If you wouldn't mind handling the fallout of the pamphlet, Tsunade, I'll be off. Sakura, if you want to be there when it happens, you'd better follow me!"

And with that, the absolute idiot jumped off the balcony and into the chaos of the village below.

* * *

**AN:**

**To my anon, not to worry! As you can see the 'sub-plot' of protecting the outposts really **_**was**_** a distraction. To my other anon, I may have fibbed a tiny little bit in my reply to you... **

**The next chapter should be uploaded pretty soon, I have most of it written out already. **

**Also, I'm curious to see whether people will be interested in my next story. I'm really excited about it, so have the summary:**

_Hunger Games AU. There's nothing Kakashi can do to fix all the world's wrongs. His mom died a Tribute and his dad is a shell no one knows what to do with. Tomorrow is Reaping Day, and he has a bad feeling it's going to be him this year._

**Let me know what you think! It'll have plenty of Kakashi, Sakumo, Minato, Kushina, Rin, toddler Naruto, and a few surprise guests!**


	24. Fox in the Hen House

**Chapter 24. Fox in the Hen House**

* * *

**AN: AS IF YOU WEREN'T CONFUSED ENOUGH BEFORE, I PRESENT TO YOU THE CHAPTER THAT CONFUSED THE AUTHOR HERSELF **

**Thank you all for the overwhelming amount of reviews and comments on the latest chapter! I feel spoiled. I love you all, thank you for reading and supporting my story 3**

**The start of this chapter was a real struggle. I apologize for any inconsistencies.**

**I ended up finishing this later than I'd hoped. Sorry about that! My new job has been keeping me very busy, and because it requires a lot of typing it also strained my wrists and hands more than ideal. I had to take writing breaks in order to keep them in shape and prevent injury.**

* * *

During the following hour, pamphlets continued to appear across Konoha. Some were glued to the walls and bulletin boards, but the vast majority were falling from the sky. Sakura caught a few of them herself, skimming through the contents before ripping them apart. With each pamphlet she read, her anger grew.

Fox was airing Konoha's dirty laundry. Itachi's secret was the biggest reveal so far, but she'd seen other secrets like what happened to the Hyuuga clan leader's twin brother as well. That one had made her heart ache for poor Neji.

The worst one, though, she found as it drifted through the air like a leaf falling towards the ground, swinging left and right. Kakashi-sensei slowed his pace and caught it between two fingers, holding it up in such a way that Sakura could see it at the same time he did.

It read, _Nohara Rin_,_ deceased. The girl for whom Uchiha Obito turned monstrous._

Below it, a team picture. The Yondaime Hokage in the back, smiling happily. To the right, a grumpy looking boy with goggles and black hair. To the left, Kakashi-sensei's familiar face, but rounder, softer, and infinitely angrier. And in the middle a sweet-faced girl with large brown eyes and dark hair, smiling at them from the pamphlet. Below her picture and her name, bold letters spelled out, "**Who killed Nohara Rin?"**

Kakashi-sensei's fingers curled around the paper, crinkling it but not damaging the photograph. Sakura barely dared to look at him. She didn't know exactly what had happened with Nohara Rin, but he'd certainly had something to do with her death.

_Who _did_ kill Nohara Rin?_

"Kakashi-sensei? Are you okay?" asked Sakura.

Sensei's expression was furious. His chakra pulsed briefly with an unfamiliar energy, and then his grip on the pamphlet loosened and he allowed it to continue its slow fall to the ground. His hand flexed a few times, as though he'd just touched something filthy. He stared at the pamphlet a little longer as it fell to the ground, but aside from anger -and confusion?- she didn't read the pain she'd expected to see on his face. Something was up.

"Let's keep going," said Sensei, "We've already asked Sasuke, Yamato, Yuugao and a few others to go to the Yamanaka compound. We know where Fox is. We're going to surround him and tease him out."

"Without Naruto here? Are you sure?"

Kakashi-sensei nodded. "He's taking care of Fox's henchmen near the outpost. We'll deal with Fox ourselves. They're still spreading the pamphlets, to they have to be close."

"You'd better have a plan, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said, frowning at him as they picked up speed again. It wasn't like Kakashi-sensei not to share his ideas with his team. Had he gone back to doing things on his own again, like he had back in the palace?

Around them, people watched them pass by with apprehensive faces. Almost all of them were holding pamphlets of their own. Ninja and civilian alike seemed unsure of what to do with them. Sakura tried not to shiver. Everyone seemed as confused as she herself felt.

The fact that a ninja village kept secrets wasn't exactly a big deal. Hell, they weren't called a _hidden village_ for no reason. These, though, weren't just secrets: they were scandals. As it turned out, the Uchiha massacre had just been the tip of the iceberg.

Sakura bit her lip in frustration as they moved through the village. She was one of the people who could look at Konoha with something of a bird's eye perspective due to her close bonds with the previous, current, and future Hokages. Her first instinct was to protect Konoha's leadership. But would everyone feel that way? She hardly expected an uprising, but would there be riots? They were hardly just going to lie down and take it, were they?

Glancing at the faces of the people they passed in the streets, uncertainty gnawed at her. She glanced at Kakashi again, at the determined line of his shoulders and the grim set of his expression. How was he going to deal with this? Would he even be able to at all? He seemed more energetic now than he had in days, but it wasn't uncommon for ill people to experience an upswing right before the worst of it occurred. Kakashi might not even have time to deal with any of this, and what that would mean not only for the team but for the village as well, Sakura didn't want to think about.

A shout went up ahead of them, and a team of ANBU appeared at the same time as a couple of cloaked figures. The cloaked figures separated and darted in separate directions, immediately followed by the ANBU. One of the ANBU kept moving and met Kakashi and Sakura half-way. She threw them a quick salute and kept pace with them.

"Hokage-sama-" The ANBU cut herself off suddenly, and faltered. Kakashi-sensei shot her two quick and clumsy ANBU signals. After a moment, the ANBU continued talking. "We're chasing two of the men spreading the pamphlets," she said, and Sakura recognized her voice as Yuugao's. " The speed at which the pamphlets were spread suggests there must have been more, but we've yet to find them."

Kakashi-sensei nodded. "Chase them to the Yamanaka District. That's where Fox is. Get them there, and we'll take over."

Yuugao saluted and split away at a dazzling pace, off to inform her colleagues.

Kakashi-sensei seemed to think for a moment, and then crossed his fingers in front of his chest. A moment later, two Kage Bunshin appeared on either side of him. "Help them," he ordered the clone, and they sped off after the ANBU.

"Kakashi-sensei, what was that symbol? Why did she-" Kakashi-sensei ignored her. Of course he did. The energy, the bright grins, the slightly off chakra... Something strange was going on.

* * *

"They're narrowing in on us. Please wake up, we have to _move_-"

It was to these words that Fox startled awake. Blinking sluggishly, he listened closely when his lieutenant, a sensory type kunoichi who had once been part of ROOT before being reassigned to codebreaking, informed him that his own men were being chased towards the Yamanaka compound. Chased by the Hokage, his ANBU, and Haruno Sakura.

Fox growled. Gesturing at his lieutenant, he ordered her to kneel next to his bed. Once she'd done so he placed his hand over her forehead and transferred his consciousness into her body. She welcomed him gladly, not fighting against him as Sai had. He'd used her before for this very purpose, so she knew what to expect.

He quickly stripped her body of its identifying markers- the diamond-marked mask and cloak- and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her reasonably standard kunoichi clothes underneath. He went to stand before the mirror and focused on his memories of her, of her mannerisms, her voice, her facial expressions. He cracked a crooked grin at himself in the mirror, revealing pearly white teeth.

He shook out her arms and legs and jumped up, trying to get used to the different height and centre of balance. He punched the air a few times and tried her chakra. It responded sluggishly to his attempt, but that was according to the norm. He could force it if he wanted to.

Good. He could pass, at least. He picked up her mask and cloak and sealed them away with a sealing scroll. Glancing back at his own body briefly, he left the house. Time to see what the Hokage was up to.

* * *

Fox's men were quick, Sakura had to give them that. As she watched, the ANBU darted left and right, like shepherd dogs trying to move their flock in the intended direction. Sakura grit her teeth together and returned to her own task: sending the Yamanaka back into their homes so they wouldn't get in the way of the fight. It was not as easy a task as it seemed- the Yamanaka were all shinobi, after all- they wanted to fight. Kakashi-sensei -or, well, whoever he was- seemed adamant, however, and only those who hadn't heard his direct orders were still lingering on the streets.

The Yamanaka compound itself wasn't very large, and unlike the Hyuuga compound with its traditional, low buildings, it was modern and bustling with activity on any given day. The buildings were fairly high to compensate for their lack of numbers, with each building containing a number of apartments. They were placed in a rough hexagon, with the Yamanaka flower shop and a few clothing stores at the centre, standing out with their bright colouring and low roofs.

Overhead, the ANBU were quickly starting to gain ground. Fox's henchmen were at a disadvantage in numbers, and while they were quick, so were the ANBU. What Sakura hadn't counted on was one of Fox's men making a few seals she'd never seen before, and vanishing into thin air.

_Shit- teleportation? Or a camouflage technique?_

The other henchman snarled at one of the ANBU and then- quite literally- burst into flames, fire licking at his limbs and basking his mask in an unearthly glow. With the flames wreathed around his body he barrelled into one of the ANBU, sending her tumbling to one of the rooftops.

Sakura immediately leapt after her. She channelled chakra to the palms of her hands so that they already glowed before she reached the downed ANBU agent. It was Yuugao - now recognizable as the flames had burned away part of her cloak and revealed her distinctive hair- but while she was clearly in a lot of pain Sakura could tell her life wasn't in danger. Quickly applying a first layer of healing to the severe burns on Yuugao's skin, Sakura tried to keep half an eye on the battle going on around her.

The camouflaged Fox henchman- and she really needed a better name for them- reappeared behind one of the ANBU, reaching out and neatly slitting his throat. Sakura cursed, and felt faintly guilty when she was relieved to see blue-ish gray hair on the killed ANBU's crown, not brown like Yamato's.

Speak of the devil- wood curled through the air at an immense pace, heading straight for the previously camouflaged shinobi. The shinobi dropped to the ground to dodge the attack, where he disappeared from view once more. That meant he was in Kakashi-sensei's territory now, but Yamato seemed to have realized as he too dropped to the ground and looked around trying to find the camouflaged nin.

The flame-user claimed another victim not too far away, but as he dropped the ANBU's body something that could only be described as a spear of water torpedoed into him, pushing him towards the ground. Sakura recognized Kakashi-sensei's chakra signal, and felt stupidly relieved that he was still capable of using ninjutsu, at least. A squirrel-masked ANBU dropped into view, pushing the injured flame-user to the ground and sealing up his arms and legs with an efficiency bred during the war, where sealing up downed opponents had become second nature.

There was a shout down below. Sakura twisted her body to look just in time to see Yamato-taichou sink to one knee, blood spurting from the back of his left knee and the camouflaged shinobi appearing right behind him.

Sakura's heart gave a painful lurch as she pushed off of the roof- she wouldn't be able to make it in time- and then Yamato-taichou suddenly disappeared, only to be replaced by a familiar, black-haired figure.

_Sasuke_.

Sakura caught movement from the corner of her eye. Twisting mid-move, she was clipped by the chakra-loaded, shimmering air moments before it reached Sasuke.

Suddenly she could see _Itachi, his own brother, reaching towards his face to pluck out his eye. Itachi, blood-stained teeth bared just a little as he smiled, more blood dripping from his eyes as Susano'o flickered out. Sakura could feel her own heart pounding- Sasuke's heart?- as Itachi sunk to his knees before him, rasping and heaving as if he couldn't breathe-the Sandaime standing over him with a sharp grin, poised to strike-_

Sakura gasped for air. Her heart suddenly seemed two sizes too large for her body, thundering along as if she'd just sprinted. Sasuke was gasping as well, half curled in on himself and clutching at his eyes. The camouflaged ninja seemed surprised for one moment, then grabbed his sword and advanced on Sasuke.

_Oh no, you don't!_

Kakashi-sensei and Sakura seemed to reach him simultaneously. Sakura's fist cracked the camouflaged nin's head to the side while Kakashi-sensei's _rasengan_ burrowed into his chest and flung the remnants of his body against the nearby building.

"There!" thesquirrel-masked ANBU from before called out, pointing at a woman who was watching them from close by. Her forest green eyes widened as she saw him, evidently surprised by the ANBU's presence. Before they could fully digest what the ANBU meant, however, the very ground underneath their feet was upturned.

Sakura yelped as she was almost sucked underneath the surface, using her chakra to clear enough room between herself and the rapidly collapsing street. Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei disappeared as well, both of them leaping to the rooftops. The buildings shook, but held.

Sakura looked up just in time to see the woman disappear flanked by two figures wearing Fox's distinctive masks.

* * *

Fox was getting tired. There was no getting around it. He threw himself back into the shadows cast by the Yamanaka compound's main building, and suppressed his chakra as well as he could. It was much harder to do so while he wasn't inside his body, but on the plus side borrowing bodies also meant muddling his signature up. That made it nearly impossible for anyone to recognize his signature.

Well, except for Uzumaki Naruto, back in that hospital. Damn him. He hadn't seen the kid coming. It was one thing to hear all the stories, but it was another thing altogether to connect them to a nineteen year old who could barely spell his own name. Fox cursed himself quietly.

He hadn't anticipated that blasted ANBU catching him in the act of defending his own man, either. He was so damn _tired_.

The body he was currently occupying was a light thing, far more nimble and elegant than his own, possessing speed far greater than he ever had himself. That, and her chakra was eager and waiting, filling her body to the brim with energy. At least he'd be able to last a little bit longer because of her.

At his side, his two remaining operatives nodded at him. They were ready.

Forming seals with his elegant borrowed hands, he slammed his palms against the nearest wall. Seals ran up brick and mortar as at his side, the other two men mimicked his movement. His vessel's borrowed chakra began to pour out like water, joining the chakra of Fox's henchmen in the seal. Her mind began to pound against his own, suddenly aware of what he was doing, but it wouldn't be long before her remaining strength would be sapped.

All across Konoha, the pamphlets began to glow with power as they responded to Fox's master seal.

Fox swallowed, and placed his hand against the glowing centre of the master seal. He smirked. This was going to hurt.

* * *

For a brief moment, Sasuke's vision disappeared in a flash of blinding white. His eyes burned with the intensity and he reached up to cover them with a cry of pain. Before he could think or act, the bright light seemed to leap towards him, thin threads of chakra springing from a nearby pamphlet and towards his face.

_The council killed your clan. The Hokage let it happen. The _village _let it happen. Are you really okay with that?_ _The village _hates_ you, even though you suffered more than anyone-_

Sasuke's lip curled up into a snarl as he cut through the fine threads of chakra. Mind control? No- it was subtler than that. Sasuke stared at the chakra with his Rinnegan, trying to dissect its components and ultimate purpose. It was like someone had reached into his mind and nudged his thoughts into a certain direction- a direction they might not have taken otherwise.

Breaking free from the chakra altogether, he looked around. He could see Kakashi from up here, frozen, and shaking minutely. Sakura, about twenty feet away, her face scrunched up in fury as she too had frozen mid-battle.

Now that they were activated, it seemed abundantly obvious that the pamphlets contained chakra seals. Sasuke pinned a nearby pamphlet with his foot and observed it. He was no expert on seals, but his Rinnegan allowed him some insight. The pamphlet contained a seal meant to amplify power and attack anyone near it. It didn't have a direct power source, but seemed to be fuelled by an outside source. That meant it had a control switch, a master seal.

Following the source of the chakra with his eyes, Sasuke leapt off his perch on the roof and raced towards it. Around the compound, life started to return to the villagers. Faces turned angry, and it wasn't long before they were all shouting at each other. Judging by the chakra spreading everywhere, it was village-wide. _Shit_.

Only one way to stop it.

Sasuke appeared right in the middle of Fox's group, the air briefly shimmering around him because of his speed. Both of Fox's men flinched and instinctively tried to get away from him, but for one of them there was no escaping the wrath of Sasuke's Amaterasu, burning away at their clothes.

The woman at the centre dropped to the ground with her remaining henchman, her face scrunched up in fury. Her chakra signature seemed dull, not just with use but with something else- as though a thin veneer of enamel had been layered on top of it, hiding away the details and bright colors of her chakra.

It had to be Fox. What other option was there?

Kakashi seemed to have come to the same conclusion. He rushed at her, moving fast enough to blur even in Sasuke's vision, knocking her henchman down to the ground with a punch.

Fox shouted something at him and his (her?) chakra lashed out wildly. Sasuke felt it again, that strange rush of anxiety and chakra and then-

_He sees the once proud White Fang slide to the ground, weeping. He sees the accusing faces, loud voices, cursing a once-proud name, and it hits him like a kick to the gut. He remembers those faces, remembers them vividly, and suddenly it doesn't matter that the illusion isn't real because for just a moment, he is seven years old again and so, so scared-_

Up above, Fox's seals were still burning.

* * *

Fox didn't need that much more time. If his vessel had to die to accomplish this, to really make the people of Konoha _think_\- so be it. Fox would pick up the pieces, afterwards.

The squirrel-masked ANBU stumbled and almost fell until the Hokage caught him by the elbow. "Hang on, just a little bit longer," he growled-

Fox didn't wait. There was no time to wait. Throwing out his hands, he bombarded the small group with another image. If he could just _stall them-_

_Hatake Sakumo is on the ground and bleeding. His breath comes out in ugly rasps through the foam around his lips. He's dying, and it probably won't be long now. According to the autopsy, his death had been drawn out and excruciatingly pa-_

"Autopsy," the Hokage rasped, shaking the ANBU a little. "The autopsy reports."

Fox didn't relish it, but if he stopped now they would get to him too soon. The seals just needed a few more moments- just a little bit more of the chakra his current vessel could feed it with- and all he needed for that was to stay in her body a little bit longer.

One more. Just one more.

He threw out his hands again, and knew what they would see:

_Sasuke, perched between the corpses of his parents. Kakashi, clutching at Namikaze Minato's corpse after he first found it. Sakura, standing over the corpses of her teammates moments after they had killed each other-_

They were all reeling after this, even the few ANBU still scattered about. The one closest to the Hokage was clearly having a hard time keeping his balance. The analyst in Fox immediately suggested the ANBU had a history of mental instability, one of the only things that would cause such a strong response. The Hokage pushed him away, and the ANBU ran off. A coward, then.

Steeling himself, Fox prepared seals for another round as his remaining lieutenants sped towards the swaying Team Seven. So much for their being legendary. One more round of his illusions-

"Y'know," the Hokage suddenly said, "regardless of what you're tryin' to accomplish... All of this would have been so much easier if you'd just gone into politics."

At his side, Haruno Sakura's fist crunched into the skull of his operative. Uchiha Sasuke's chakra flared up and burned the other to a crisp.

Fox panicked. Bam. Another memory. Uchiha Obito, falling to pieces after Kaguya had killed him. That had been a particularly juicy report. _Shit, stay calm. This isn't your body. Even if they kill this body-_

The Hokage reeled, swaying on his feet. "I mean, I know most politicians are just a bunch of old farts, but _really -"_ he breathed.

Fox's temper flared.

Another memory flash. Uchiha Sasuke driving his arm through Uzumaki Naruto's chest. Kakashi, standing on the sidelines and being unable to prevent it.

This one hit the Hokage harder than the others. He sank to one knee. "Or you could've just gone for me directly. Take this body, take the Hokage position. Maybe you just didn't want to put in all the work. I mean, the reports of your genin instructor _did _mention you were a little lazy-"

Fox froze. For a moment, it seemed as if the world stood still.

"What did you just say?" he said quietly.

The Hokage made his way back onto his feet. Haruno and Uchiha flanked him, staring Fox down. There was blood in Haruno's pink hair.

"Oh, your records. We had a fun time reading them," the Hokage shrugged. "Though I was surprised that your wife didn't write any of the entries-"

Fox flinched. _No- that would ruin everything! _"You couldn't _possibly-_"

The Hokage interrupted him. "It wasn't that hard to find out. Your name is-"

Fox cried out and moments later his jutsu ripped through the air. Not his memory jutsu, but the _one_ technique he hadn't yet tried out on his main target.

Fox's last thought before overwhelming the Hokage's mind altogether was of his wife.

* * *

**AN:**

**! Don't kill me! /hides**

**As always, thank you for reading!**

**Also, to clarify- the Kakashi Sasuke sees really **_**is**_** Kakashi. The kakashi **_**sakura**_** sees is actually Naruto. Most of you already guessed that, so I don't mind clearing it up a little. It was a real b*tch to write this because of all the different perspectives 8'D**


	25. Plan B

**Chapter 25. Plan B**

* * *

**AN: Enjoy the extra long chapter!**

* * *

For a moment, the world narrowed down into a whirl of chakra, buzzing through their minds as Fox used his possession jutsu.

And then Kurama chuckled dryly and hooked his claws into Fox's mind. "_My, _I _bet_ you weren't expecting _me_!"

Fox's borrowed body slumped to her knees. Kurama didn't bother focusing on her, she was just a vessel. The kids would take care of her. Instead, he focused on the little human mind he'd caught between his claws.

Fox still had his own chakra wrapped around Naruto's mind. Kurama could see it, a vile purple-tinged chakra entangled with Naruto's own gold, oppressing it almost completely. Chakra strength didn't matter here- it was all about the ability to manipulate and enter minds. Against a Yamanaka, Naruto never stood a chance. With Naruto's focus so derailed, the Kakashi-henge he'd been holding for the past few hours dropped, and suddenly the 'Hokage' once again became a certain blond nineteen-year old.

Kurama grinned.

Kakashi's plan had been breathtakingly simple, but Kurama had to hand it to him- it had _worked beautifully._

_"I figured it out once I realized he couldn't sense anyone while using someone else's body," _Kakashi had said, leaning forward over the table with an uncharacteristically spirited expression. "_So long as Fox is possessing someone, he has to rely on his sight alone to know who's who. So, we're going to borrow one of his own tricks_."

Naruto being Naruto had taken a moment to figure out what Kakashi had meant by it, but Kurama had understood. "_You want to use me, kid? That's mightily arrogant of you," _he'd said, taking charge of Naruto's body for a moment.

To his credit, Kakashi had not so much as flinched. "_I think you'll agree it's in everyone's best interest that the mind Fox tries to occupy is the one guarded by one of the most powerful beings in the world,"_ he'd smiled.

Well. Kurama had always had a weakness for compliments.

After that, it had been mind-numbingly simple. Step 1: have Fox believe Naruto was actually Kakashi. Step 2: provoke Fox into directly attacking 'Kakashi'. Step 3: unleash hell.

Wrapping his chakra around Fox's, he quickly disentangled it from Naruto's own. The process was almost breathtakingly easy, really, although Fox was screaming all the while. Kurama imagined it felt not unlike being ripped out of your skin. Naruto wouldn't have been able to do it on his own, but that's where Kurama's centuries' worth of experience and power came in handy.

"Well, well, well," Kurama chuckled as he held the mental representation of Fox between his claws. "Let's see who you _really_ are, shall we?"

A few moments later, he had his answers. Just in time too- for all of his power, Kurama's expertise had never lain in trapping or fighting mental manifestations- if it had, would Kushina and Naruto ever been able to best him so thoroughly? Fox's mind slipped through his claws and escaped, but it hardly mattered.

All he needed to do now was to let Kakashi know his suspicions had been correct. _Flare your chakra once, it's the wrong guy. Flare it twice... Go for it._

Kurama flared his chakra twice, and relinquished control back to Naruto.

Coming back into his own body, Naruto quickly worked through the information Kurama shared with him. His teammates were looking at him expectantly, Sasuke patient and Sakura...

"You- you were disguised as Kakashi-sensei all along? No, more importantly: you let _Fox go?_" Sakura asked. A vein on her forehead started to bulge in a rather threatening manner. Conclusion: beating imminent. For both her idiot boys. Or, well, boy and sensei, anyhow.

Naruto grinned. The vein on Sakura's forehead popped out even further. That was risky.

At his side, Sasuke rolled his eyes. "The ANBU from before was actually Kakashi. The one with the squirrel mask," he explained. Of course. With his Sharingan and Rinnegan, he would have seen straight through a henge."He left for Fox's real location right before Naruto taunted this version of Fox." Sasuke nodded at the unknown woman, who lay slumped before them.

Sakura knelt next to her and checked her pulse. "Weak, but steady. She'll live." She looked up at her boys. "So what do we do now? That seal is still active."

Around them, the people of Konoha were growing increasingly agitated. They were arguing amongst themselves, some shouting and- disconcertingly- even starting physical fights. "That seal is messing with their minds," Sakura guessed.

It was lucky that they hadn't been affected. Or... Naruto glanced at Sasuke. Maybe it had been his doing. It had seemed much easier to think once he'd turned up. Perhaps his Rinnegan had severed the connection somehow. Or maybe Fox's proximity had.

Naruto nodded. "That'll be our job. Kakashi-sensei didn't count on it, but if we can destroy the seal or stop the chakra flow we should be able to stop this weird-ass technique from turning everyone crazy."

Sasuke took a deep breath. "Let's go, then."

Sakura steeled herself visibly. "Clobbering you boys over the head will have to wait. We have a village to save."

* * *

Kakashi put on an extra burst of speed. The world warped into a blur of colour of light, forcing him to rely on instinct rather than sight. This kind of speed had been easier to control when he'd had the Sharingan.

Somewhere behind him, he could feel the snarl of Kurama's chakra, so very bright compared to human signatures. Flaring once- and twice. So he'd been right.

Kakashi scaled the walls of the apartment building he had to reach as fast as he could.

It required so much more focus even just to channel chakra to his feet. If Fox put up too much of a fight, he wasn't sure he'd be able to beat him. Even now his heart-rate seemed too quick, his breathing too laboured. The old pain had returned too, making his muscles ache with fatigue and strain. He felt too tired to even feel pleased his deduction had been correct.

With any luck, Fox would be exhausted as well. That was Kakashi's only advantage- if you could call it that.

Focusing his chakra on his senses, he inhaled deeply. He still remembered the smell... There, in the building with the cracked yellow paint and flowers in the window sills. It looked terribly innocuous, but he knew better now.

The windows weren't even booby-trapped. Well, why would the windows of an innocent, retired, middle-aged man be booby-trapped? In a compound full of sensors and mind-readers, such a thing would only have stood out. Kakashi rammed a cloth-wrapped fist through the glass and opened the latch, careful not to get caught on the glass shards.

He landed lightly in the living room. On the coffee table, the pictures of Yamanaka Fuu and his mother, Yuuhi Kimiko, were still proudly displayed. There was a third picture in the middle, which displayed the whole family. Fuu was smiling happily at the camera, no older than four. Kimiko looked at him with shining eyes, her love for the child evident in her gaze. And then there was Fox, his arms wrapped around them both.

_Fox_. Well.

"When did you figure it out?" Yamanaka Shou stepped out of the adjoining bedroom. His voice sounded raspy. Exhausted.

Kakashi turned towards him, feeling somehow more tired and even older than before. Shou's face was clammy, greying blond hair sticking to his skin. His grey eyes were feverish.

"Your wife," Kakashi nodded at the family picture. "We realized the memories you were showing us weren't memories at all, they were constructs. Images of the events as you imagined them. There was something clinical about them, something just off. So we checked who'd had access to our files."

Shou's face was unreadable for a moment. Then, he chuckled. "Kimiko... My darling wife... She had such empathy. Her heart was so big, so chockfull of love for this village. She read your story. She read so many stories, and once she had, she would tell me about them. She trusted me not to spill any secrets."

"Did she take the files home?" Kakashi asked. Yuuhi Kimiko represented one hell of a breach in protocol.

"Sometimes. Not often. She felt guilty," Shou said, shrugging a little. He leaned lightly against the window sill, relieving his bad leg a little, but never losing the coiled energy in his limbs.

Kakashi kept his guard up, chakra at the ready. "So how did your boy end up in ROOT? With your wife being so very empathetic...? Let me guess: _you _were ROOT. There's no way Danzou would have let someone of your ability get away."

Shou's eyebrows drew together. "_Danzou_, that swine. I trusted him- he did right by me when I lost my parents. Took me in when the clan leader neglected me, when the Hokage did not see me. Encouraged me to take the _Shintenshin no jutsu_ in a new direction. I just wanted the same for my boy."

"But he let you down," Kakashi guessed.

"The village let us down!" Shou barked, and suddenly Kakashi could see Fox in his body movement, in the tightness of his shoulders and the anger in his voice. "My boy _died_ at age nineteen for some _ pointless exercise _in displaying Danzou's dominance. He wanted his little team of elites so _he_ would look better, so hecould _use and abuse them-_ and the Hokage did _nothing!" _he snarled.

Kakashi fought the instinct to take a step back. "We've all bled for the village. The Hokage cannot predict every bad thing we encounter, or stop it from happening," he argued, keeping his tone soft. It was an old argument, one he'd often had with himself.

The feverish look in Fox's expression told him it was pointless. This wasn't Fox, the murderer. Not anymore. Right now Kakashi was looking at _Shou_, the grieving father, the widower. That made him far more dangerous than ever before.

"Oh yes, we've _bled_," Fox nodded, looking down so his hair obscured his eyes from view. "We've bled time and time again, and for what? So we can go out and get hurt and bleed and die all over again! Is that really worth it? Is it worth sacrificing our children, brothers, sisters, parents and lovers for? _Is it?"_

"It's the price of surviva-"

"Would you not go back to save your team? Would you not go back and drag your father out of his house and out of the village if it meant saving his life? Would you not _do anything to change their fates?_"Fox interrupted him with such pain in his voice and eyes that Kakashi's breath caught.

His own argument seemed painfully weak in comparison.

Fox grinned, but there was no humor in it. It was a smile filled with bitterness. "You see, the thing is that Konoha treats its shinobi terribly. The village expects us to live, breathe, fight, kill and die for them. And what do we get in return? Measly pay and a roof over our heads. It's _pitiful_," he sneered.

"And what happens when we crack? What happens when our minds break because we've seen such awful things that our minds simply can't comprehend it?" He spat, his face turning red, "Then we are dropped like stones! Who cares, right? A broken tool is useless, why bother trying to fix it? Why care that you've ruined someone's life if they are no longer useful to you, right?"

Yuu's eyes blazed. "And so those who crack under the pressure are left to deal with it themselves. They've lost their purpose, because the village told them their only purpose was to fight and die. So they wither away until nothing is left."

Something stuttered in Kakashi's chest. His father's face sprung to mind, unbidden, as he had been in his last few weeks. Pale, withdrawn, his eyes so very empty.

Kakashi took a deep breath. "I know that. I'm _working _on it. I _promise_ you."

Shou gave him a speculative look. "Your father. Yes. Yes, you would know, wouldn't you? He was left behind as well when he broke, and look what it did to him? Look what it did to _you? _Why should you be loyal to this village, when all it has ever done is thrown you against the rocks to break you?"

Kakashi felt like punching something. "Because I was just a kid. By the time I learned to see outside of what I had been taught, I had already given so much for this village- had come to care so much for its people- that I could no longer give up on it. _Yes, _Konoha is broken. It's so, so broken. My father _died_ because of that, and so did my friends-" His voice cracked, but did not break, "-the entire Uchiha clan died because of that. But if we just give up on it, it will only result in more broken lives. It's like you said- we have to fix what is broken. Good people live here. Good people, who deserve better than what you're giving them."

Still, something about all of this didn't make sense. Kakashi pushed on. "Then why not just destroy everything in your thirst for vengeance? You would not be the first. Why bother with all of this, if there isn't a part of you that still believes it can be fixed? "

For the first time, Fox didn't seem to know how to reply. Finally, his eyes filled with tears. "It's too late. What mattered most is already gone," said Fox. "My precious boy, my beautiful wife... My teacher, my friends... Everyone who mattered. I want the village to _feel _it."

He looked up to meet Kakashi's eyes again. "I know you get it. Your family was discarded like trash. But with time, you forgot, and you served the village anyway. So... I just have to make you remember."

With those words, he formed a number of unfamiliar seals fast enough for his hands to blur- and threw the last of his chakra at Kakashi.

* * *

Sakura snarled as she threw her fist into the masked man's face. The mask shattered underneath her knuckles and the body hit the ground like a ragdoll. "Sasuke! Naruto! Did it work?" She cried.

Above her, Sasuke dropped the body of Fox's other lieutenant. "No- we're too late."

"Damn it!" Naruto appeared next to Sakura, glaring at the still burning seal above them. "How are we going to stop it?"

"Destroy it?" Sasuke suggested as he joined them.

"How? Destroy the building? There might be people inside, and we have no guarantee it would work," Sakura argued.

The seal was massive, at least 6 feet in diameter. To destroy it physically they'd have to bring down the entire building.

Sasuke sniffed and looked away. For all his bark, he wouldn't go that far. She could read his reluctance from the slump in his shoulders. "Then evacuate them," he decided.

Naruto grinned and created a dozen or so clones, who quickly scaled the building. The moment they got close to the seal, though, they stopped- and turned on each other. "Wh-what? What are you guys doing?" Naruto cried out at them, but they wouldn't respond.

"Damn it. They can't make it past the seal without being influenced."

"Then how are _we_ going to get past it?" Sakura asked. Her stomach did a nervous flip. The village was in danger, and Kakashi-sensei was off to face Fox on his own. This didn't feel right.

The boys' expressions told her they felt much the same way. Sasuke kept darting little looks in the direction Kakashi had gone, and Naruto's chakra spiked regularly the way it did when he was sensing chakra presences: he was keeping track of Kakashi.

To make things worse, the villagers grew increasingly agitated. Naruto created another group of clones (at least two dozen, this time) and sent them out into the crowds for damage control. Most of the villagers were just arguing, but a few had started to fight each other, rolling over the floor with their fists flying. Naruto's clones could at least keep them from getting out of hand _here_, but what about the rest of the village? There wasn't enough manpower for that.

"How come we're not affected, anyway?" Naruto asked, voicing Sakura's thoughts.

Sasuke glanced at them. "The seal throws threads of chakra to affect people. I can see them, so I can sever them. The Hyuuga might be able to as well."

"You stopped the seal from affecting us?" Sakura asked, feeling a rush of excitement. It had been so long since they'd worked as a team.

"Hn. And Kakashi, as well. Otherwise the village would already be screwed. If the four of us started fighting others, as well..."

"That would be bad, but there are jounin out there as well. ANBU. They outclass most other people," Naruto said urgently. "They could kill people with ease. We gotta hurry up-"

He stiffened mid-sentence. Kurama's chakra reared up, and Naruto's blue eyes turned red. "The kid's right," Kurama growled, deepening Naruto's voice significantly. "We have to deactivate the seal."

"How?"

"Just follow my lead. If we use enough chakra, we can overload the seal and burn it out. I'll do it." Kurama grinned fiercely. Seeing Kurama on Naruto's familiar features never failed to unnerve her, ally or not. The way he'd stopped Fox earlier... Sakura shivered. Only Kurama would have enough chakra to execute his plan.

Kurama rushed towards the seal, sticking to the side of the building like glue. His eyes narrowed and he paused over the seal, Naruto's slender figure forming a striking silhouette against the bright light of the seal. His outstretched hand started to shake, and suddenly Naruto's eyes turned blue again. "Kurama- no!"

Sakura rushed up the wall herself, reaching Naruto's side just as Sasuke reached the seal himself. "Naruto! What's wrong?"

"I don't know- the seal's affecting Kurama somehow!" Naruto's eyes shifted from blue to red and back in a nauseating kaleidoscope of colours. "He wants to deactivate the seal for us, but-agh- the seal is scrambling up his control!"

Sasuke cursed and placed a hand on the seal himself, opposite Naruto. "Then we'll have to do it together."

Naruto's eyes shifted back to blue. He nodded.

Sakura took a deep breath and took place at the top of the seal. Together, they now formed a triangle around the seal. She closed her eyes. She'd have to dig deep. She'd have to use the seal.

Just the thought was enough to unlock it. She'd had almost three years to collect chakra again. Pure power flooded through her system. Across from her, Naruto burned gold and Sasuke dug deep into his own reserves, their combined power beating into the seal until she could only hear the thrum of chakra and her heartbeat in her ears.

The seal flickered dangerously, its chakra reaching out towards them and trying to affect them- but Sasuke nipped it in the bud, snipping through the chakra threads with ease. Sakura's lungs started to burn, and she realized she wasn't breathing because of how hard she had to focus on working her chakra into the seal. It was like the seal was evading them, constantly throwing up new walls to block them and keep them out, walls that they had to break through again.

"Just... a little bit more!" Naruto's chakra flared spectacularly, so massive in size that it made even Sakura and Sasuke's bleach in comparison, but still the seal didn't break. "Why won't this work?" Naruto cried out.

Sakura gritted her teeth together. If even the three of them couldn't do it...

"That's because you're doing it wrong, dickless," a fourth voice piped up.

Team 7 looked down in shock. There, at the foot of the building, was Sai. Pale, drawn, and still in a hospital gown, but undeniably Sai. He gave them a strained smile and loped up the building, taking place at the fourth point of the seal. "You require subtlety for this, not brute strength," he said, and moments later his own chakra- so minute in comparison, but fluid and clever like water- joined theirs and tricked its way around the seal's walls and barriers.

Laughter bubbled up from Sakura's throat as the seal began to come apart. Team 7, together. Between the four of them, they'd _definitely_ be able to do it.

* * *

Shou's chakra washed away the world. It felt a little like being pushed underwater at a great speed, the water invading Kakashi's nostrils, eyes, mouth, and he couldn't _breathe_-

The feeling cleared up just as quickly as it had happened, and he found himself standing in a bright, white space. He had to blink against the sharpness of the light and wait for his eyes to accommodate. Once they had he could see Shou again, looking every bit as surprised as he did.

"This is... unexpected," said Shou, looking around. "This must be some version of your mind. Your mindscape, as it were. A mental representation of you."

"Then why on earth is it so white?" Kakashi said, before he could stop himself. If anything, he'd expected something with more scantily clad people. Or dogs. Or both. Although- putting those two in the same context was a little disturbing.

He'd have thought there'd be something ninja-y, at the least. Yes- ninja things were save. If this _was_ his mindscape, he didn't want to risk his environments matching his thoughts. That could potentially get _very_ embarrassing. Scratch murder, Shou could make do with blackmail.

Shou raised his eyebrows, as if he were reading Kakashi's mind. Shit, maybe he _was_. Shou cleared his throat. "It's still solidifying. Turning into something that represents _you_, as it were," he said. "I'll admit this wasn't exactly what I'd planned... But I can make do."

"What, you were too tired to get it right?"

"Something like that. I've used up a lot of chakra already, today," Shou admitted. "But- this provides me with an altogether new opportunity."

"Which is?"

"Well. To wipe your mind out and replace it with my own, of course. Imagine the possibilities!" Shou's mouth curled up into a faint smile. "Alright, that's probably impossible. But I can give you a nudge in the right direction."

He stretched his arms, moving his fingers as though he were a conductor. "I just have to rearrange a few things..."

_"No,_" Kakashi began. Something felt wrong, so very, very wrong. Shou really was _inside his mind_, and unlike Kakashi, he knew how to mess it up. "Rearrange? What do you mean?" He asked. If he could distract Shou just a little longer...

"Shift your opinions a little, for example...Maybe implant some distrust towards your fellow Kage... That sort of thing," Shou shrugged. "I should have thought of this before. Far more effective than poison. But I suppose spontaneity under stress counts for something."

"You can't just... _re-write_ me," Kakashi said. He wanted to move. He wanted to do something, anything, but the air around him felt thick and cloying, keeping him from rushing his enemy. The pain from the poison was gone entirely, without his human body to hold him back, yet he could hardly even breathe. Shou was strangling his mind, and there was nothing he could do about it.

"Now, you die, I suppose," Shou said, shrugging a little. "The real you will, anyway. And the new you will be remembered as the man who re-created the world."

"The man who destroyed it, you mean. I don't know what the hell you think you're doing, but turning on our allies is _not a solution, we have to work together to effect change-_"

"IT'S NOT FAST ENOUGH," Shou snapped, and the air seemed to shiver around him. "IT'S NOT FAST ENOUGH, SO I'M SPEEDING IT UP. I start with you, then I go for the Suna boy, then the firecracker in Kumo, etcetera, etcetera. Because if I don't, it's only a matter of time before you all start squabbling again, or before some outsider messes things up and starts another war!"

"Then _what the hell are you trying to achieve with that seal?_ People are fighting in the streets!" Kakashi said, desperately trying but failing to understand Shou's reasoning.

"I just want them to think for themselves! I want them to look at their lives from an outsider's perspective and realize how ludicrous it all is! I want them to rage at the injustice of it all. I want to shake up the meek sheep of Konoha, I want them to revolt so that this entire rotten system comes tumbling down! But the Kages are never going to give up power voluntarily- so this was the only way. Don't you understand that?"

Shou ran his hands through his hair, giving him an even more unhinged appearance. His eyes were wild-no, crazy.

"You're terrified," Kakashi realized, "You already know your plan failed. That it could never be enough. Don't you? So now you're just... lashing out."

"No. I can _still win this_," Shou snarled. His fingers twisted in the air, and gravity pushed Kakashi to his knees. He gasped as pain shot through his limbs. His thoughts started to slow down, as though he could only look at them through a thick layer of fog-

No.

No. He wasn't going to give up now.

He had lost family, lost friends. He had fought murderers, friends, and demons alike. He had stood side by side with demi-gods, and faced down the Moon Goddess herself.

He had survived even _death_.

There was no way a man with a bad nickname was going to stop him now.

No Sharingan. No Raikiri. None of this old tricks to fall back on. He knew what people were saying behind his back.

But he'd been a jounin at _thirteen_.

Molding his chakra into a sharp point over his heart, Kakashi let air escape through his nose. When he inhaled, he pushed his chakra through his left arm, compressing and changing it, moulding it- and heavy, violet-tinged lightning came whipping out of the palm of his hand, shooting straight at Shou like thunder.

_Shiden!_

Shou's eyes widened as he threw himself out of the way. The lightning arched after him, changing angle and hitting Shou in the shoulder. If it had hit him in the chest, it would probably have stopped his heart. As it was, Shou fell down screaming, his body shuddering as the lightning raced through his nervous system.

"Damn.. Missed," Kakashi muttered as he raced towards Shou. The more chakra he poured into _Shiden_, the more powerful it would become. However, as it became more powerful it was also a lot harder to control. With just a little bit of chakra he could steer it around corners or through a building's power lines. Too much and he could only fire a straight burst, albeit one strong enough to burst open clouds or stop people's hearts.

It was no _Raikiri_, but he was starting to become quite fond of the new technique.

Shou was still alive and panting, and now managed to work his way up to his hands and knees. His right shoulder was visible through his ragged clothes, the skin turned near-black. He raised shaking hands to make a seal and-

_Rin's heart beat once in the palm of his hand before his chakra ripped it apart, bone and flesh tearing away as his hand came out the other way. Blood gushed past his skin, hot and sticky and awful because this was_ Rin's_ blood, and if it was Rin's blood it actually _mattered_, it meant she was _dying_, dying at _his_ hand, because of _his_ awful, terrible, ungodly invention-_

The flashback hit him hard enough to leave Kakashi gasping. This was the most visceral of the flashbacks yet. He fell to one knee and just barely managed to hold himself up, forcing himself to breathe deeply through his belly to calm his racing heart. Cold chills ran over his back as the memories slowly returned to the back of his memory.

The two men stared at each other, one burnt, both broken. An after-image of Rin's corpse shimmered in the air between them for a moment before slowly fading from existence.

Kakashi made a summoning seal and felt the comfortable weight of his katana return to his hand. Perhaps he didn't even need seals here- this was his own mind, after all.

He stilled as he studied his enemy's bare shoulders for any twitch of muscle, but the man gave nothing away. He was subtle. His face was completely still, the very image of a practiced poker face. The man was in his forties; he probably had a decade of experience on anyone else Kakashi's age, but Kakashi wasn't anyone else. He'd started in this business when he was _five_.

He didn't need the Sharingan to predict his opponent's next move.

There- a slight widening of the man's blue eyes- Kakashi twisted to the side, his katana slicing through the air with a screech of chakra and bisecting the clone that had come at him from behind. It fell apart in a gust of wind and energy, the blast powerful enough to tear at Kakashi's clothes and skin. _Fuuton Bunshin._

Meaning Shou was a Wind type. Strong against lightning, weak against fire.

Using the momentum of his sword strike, Kakashi swung back around to face the blond while he molded his chakra into white-hot fire. He flipped his katana up in a lazy spin and flashed through hand seals to direct the chakra through his chest, throat, mouth, and _out , _a blazing streak of light careening straight towards Shou.

He caught the katana by the hilt while still molding his chakra, forcing it into the ground through his feet. The floor underneath him gave way and he fell through just as Shou leapt out of the way of the fire _jutsu_. Even in a light room, the flames would have been powerful enough to leave flashes in Shou's vision, so he'd have a hard time seeing Kakashi coming.

Kakashi wasted no time, using the momentum of the headhunter jutsu to tunnel through the earth and come up right underneath Shou's distressed chakra signal. Once there, he pushed _up_, erupting from the ground. Shou hopped awkwardly out of the way, missing Kakashi by a hair's breadth, but the surprise had been enough to shake his footing. He overbalanced, arms wheeling gracelessly.

Kakashi pushed chakra into his arm, molding it into the ruthlessly tight spiral of _Rasengan_, glowing brightly. Shou's eyes widened as Kakashi leapt after him, arm outstretched and _Rasengan _rearing to go.

Shou desperately lashed out with his chakra, a wave of pure fear and confusion launched at Kakashi- _his father, bleeding on the floor, but surely there had to be a way to _save_ him, were there no medics nearby? Could he get one in time, would his father die here, alone, unguarded, or could it be enough for Kakashi to just press down on his father's wound and stop the bleeding and oh if only he had learned medical ninjutsu, and his father looked so pale and _dead _and why had he _done_ this-_

Kakashi cried out as he dispelled the illusion of decades' old memories with a rush of chakra, anger fuelling his every move as he pushed the _Rasengan_ into Yamanaka Shou's chest. He could feel armor cave beneath his palm as the swirl of chakra tore away at the man's body, pulling everything into its centre like a black hole.

Shou's body almost folded in on itself from the strength of the blow, before it was pushed away and into the barrier wall behind him.

Unlike _Raikiri_, _Rasengan_ did not instantly kill. It didn't pierce or burn, but it did _crush_. Blood trickled from Shou's chest and lips, the places of his skin where his clothes had been torn away rapidly purpling from internal bleeding and broken bones.

Kakashi was on him almost instantly to wrap a single hand around Shou's throat. "Now_, are you ready to talk_?" He growled.

For a moment, silence reigned. Kakashi was reminded of his brief time in the afterlife- or limbo, or whatever it had been. Perfect silence, interrupted only by the sound of Shou's ragged breathing.

"I don't... regret what I've done," Shou sighed, blood pouring from between his lips and staining his teeth red.

"You killed dozens of people," Kakashi said, "How on earth can you justify that?"

"I killed murderers and conspirators," Fox snapped, "People who... deserved to die! It was worth it, every-" cough, "-every last one of them!"

"Now you just sound like Danzou," Kakashi said tiredly. "You ended up turning into the man you most hated. Sacrificing the few for the needs of the many is necessary at times- but not when there are better solutions to the problem."

Shou blinked at him. He was so _tired_. His eyes were so broken. "Then what do _you_ propose?" he asked quietly.

"Better healthcare. A focus on mental health, in particular. Better regulations regarding child geniuses. Better regulations regarding orphans, and the children of Konoha in general. You're right. It's ridiculous that they made me fight at age five. It's utterly ridiculous, and unfair. I _agree_. And... and I can change it. Slowly, but surely. I _can_," Kakashi said, more sure with every word he spoke that he could. With the help of his friends, he could do anything.

"We've already got a good start," he went on, "we're at peace with our former enemies. Our economy is thriving. We've better contact with our civilians allies than ever before. We have the opportunity to focus on our internal affairs- and we _are going to_. Without bloodshed. Without murder. I... I have killed enough."

Slowly, surely, the white around them began to turn yellow, and green, and blue. Slowly buildings began to materialize from the white mist, familiar yellow brick with brightly painted, rounded roofs. The cliff face to their left, the Hokage faces once more whole and unblemished. People milling through the streets, children laughing and playing.

The Konoha he loved.

"Konoha," Shou breathed. "Your mindscape..."

Kakashi let out a little laugh. "And I think we're sitting on the roof of my old apartment. It's fitting, I suppose."

Shou stared at him for a moment. His arms dropped to the floor. "I suppose it is. Will you really change it?"

"I already am," Kakashi said, "I _promise_."

Shou smiled faintly, his eyes glistening with unspoken grief. "Then... maybe I should let you try."

Slowly, Kakashi's mindscape faded, until they were once again in Fox's apartment. Kakashi was still perched over Shou. Shou was no longer bleeding, but his chakra had sizzled down to a flicker. He wouldn't have long.

"I will stop the poison," Shou said, "I suppose I have already lost, anyhow. Your kids have stopped my seal."

Kakashi blinked and threw out a few chakra threads. Then he laughed. "Of course they have." Halfway through, the laugh turned to a cough. His head spun, and it became increasingly hard to breathe. He covered his mouth with a hand, mask or no, and coughed until he could breathe once more. Something dislodged in his throat, and his hand came away bloody.

"You don't have long," Shou said. He raised a shaking hand and placed it on Kakashi's chest. "I will-"

Kakashi only had a brief second to throw himself back, pure instinct warning him just in time. He needn't have bothered. The kunai whizzed past him and lodged itself into Shou's skull, splattering blood across the room and onto Kakashi.

For a moment he could only stare. Shou stared back, unseeing. He was, unequivocally, dead.

Kakashi turned around to see where the kunai had come from. A slender kunoichi entered through the window, pushing back her ANBU mask to reveal dark eyes, shining long hair, and red-painted lips.

"I'm sorry I didn't get here any earlier," Miho said, "but I think I made up for my mistakes, don't you?"

With his lungs still burning, the smell of Shou's blood still in his nostrils, Kakashi slowly closed his eyes.

This was it, then.

Konoha was safe.

And he was going to die.

* * *

**AN: Thank you for reading! Just one or two more chapters, depending on how it works out. Let me know what you think! And... don't kill me 8') I PROMISE THIS ISN"T THE END**

**In case you're not sure, Shou made his first appearance in chapter 14.**


	26. Queen takes Rook

**Chapter 26. Queen takes Rook**

* * *

The seal fell apart with a rather unremarkable sizzle. Naruto blinked at it. "Huh. I thought there'd a t least be an explosion," he said, trying not to pout.

"Idiot!"

Naruto had about half a second to foresee Sakura's punch and decide not to dodge it- experience told him that would make things significantly easier in the long run. Sakura's fist crashed into his shoulder with a fraction of the power she was capable of, but he still winced a little. "C'mon, Sakura-chaaan!"

"No, you deserve it!" Sakura's finger pointed right at his face. "You didn't let us in on your plans, you and Kakashi-sensei! Once we save his ass I'm going to punch him, too!"

Hands in her sides, she turned on Sai. "And you! You should be in the hospital! You're gravely injured, what the hell are you even doing here?"

Wisely, Sai flinched. "Ah- well-"

"How come the seal didn't affect you?" Sasuke said, his eyes narrowed. He didn't look anywhere near as pleased as he should have, if you asked Naruto. There was far too much suspicion in his expression.

Sai stuck out his tongue, revealing the black markings Naruto had seen before. "I am marked as a ROOT operative," Sai said, "so were Fox's men. I suppose that's how he kept them from being affected. He must have put some clause into the seal that would exempt ROOT members from being affected."

"How clever," Sakura said. "And how inconvenient to us."

"Good thing you have me, isn't it?" Sai asked, smiling hesitantly.

Sakura reached out and punched Sai lightly on the shoulder. He recoiled for a moment and stared at her with wide eyes, before relaxing.

"Oh, that was a compliment, wasn't it?" Sai said.

Naruto grinned little, but then he caught Sasuke 's concerned look. Naruto's stomach turned."Kakashi-sensei," he breathed, interrupting whatever Sakura was about to say. _Of course_. Kakashi was still in danger. Grave danger, and all alone.

Sakura stopped smiling immediately, as did Sai. Naruto focused on his chakra, sending out tendrils to try and sense Kakashi-sensei. He didn't stop to wait and see what he would find, but instead latched on to Kakashi's signature the moment he found it and started to race towards it. He didn't have to explain it to his friends; they followed him without asking.

Around them, the people of leaf started to wake from their stupor. Some of them milled about directionless, clearly unsure of what had just happened. Naruto barely even noticed them. His focus was entirely on that one pinprick of chakra in the distance. Already it seemed diminished, lacking that spark it usually had. Whatever had just happened between Fox and Kakashi, Naruto suspected it wasn't good. He could only sense one other chakra signature in the room with Kakashi, and it wasn't one he recognized.

_It's not Fox_, Kurama growled. _I'm not sure who this is_.

Fortunately, the compound wasn't very big. It didn't take Naruto very long to cross it.

Sakura gave him a puzzled look when they reached Fox's apartment. "Wait, really? Isn't this Yamanaka Shou's apartment? That old man? Fuu's father?"

Naruto nodded grimly. "We'll explain later. He's been Fox all along."

Sakura faltered and almost fell. She caught herself just in time. "Oh no. Ino will be heartbroken. She's known him all her life. Bad enough that he's from her clan, but someone she liked?"

Sasuke looked between them. "Hmm. Fuu? Wasn't he one of Danzou's men as well?"

"Yeah," Naruto said, "we figured out his mom had access to our files. She died a few years ago. So Sensei figured there was only one person who had both the connections and motive to be Fox. Turns out he was right."

He scaled the wall with ease and, once he had found the right window, burst through it. The occupants of the room threw up their arms to protect themselves from the hail of glass and splinters.

"Kakashi-sensei! Did you-" Naruto paused.

Kakashi slowly lowered his arms and looked at Naruto with glassy eyes. He seemed even paler than before, as though whatever had just happened had sapped him of his remaining strength. Blood was splattered over his face, chest, and hands. For a moment, Naruto's heart stopped. He stepped closer.

Sakura didn't share his hesitation."Kakashi-sensei!" She rushed past him and towards Kakashi, completely brushing aside the last person in the room, Miho, clad in an ANBU uniform. Sakura's hands were already glowing by the time she reached Kakashi, but after using the seal she didn't have much energy left. The glow fizzled out after a mere moment.

Kakashi put his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her away. "It's not mine. It's… Fox's." his voice came a little slow and hesitant, very unlike him.

Naruto's breath hitched. Sasuke moved past him and towards the body on the ground. Naruto hadn't even noticed it in his rush to get to Kakashi.

Just behind Kakashi lay the body of a man. Naruto hadn't seen him before. Even the kunai buried in his eye socket and the blood clinging to his skin, dyeing his blonde hair pink, didn't fully hide a face more suited to a kindly shopkeeper than a criminal mastermind.

Sasuke kicked the body lightly."Are we sure it's him, this time?"

Kakashi nodded slowly.

"Wait. Just wait. He released the poison, right?" Sakura ventured. "He did, didn't he?"

Kakashi didn't answer. He looked away instead.

Naruto went cold. Behind him, Sai's breath hitched.

"No. No, that's not- why wouldn't he-?" Naruto stammered.

Miho shifted, throwing her head back a little. "Why would he? After he has gone through so much trouble to kill you in the first place?" She said, directing the last part at Kakashi. "I just _saved_ you. I saved your life."

The world seem to slow down for a moment. The air seemed thick, like the atmosphere before an October storm. Naruto was starting to understand what had just happened.

So was Sasuke . "You killed him?" He asked Miho. "You killed Fox?"

Sakura turned towards Miho as well, her eyes wide.

Miho shifted uneasily under the scrutiny of the entire team. She turned towards Kakashi again. "If you really think he was about to see if you- that he was about to stop the poison, then you are naïve." Despite her words, there was a desperate edge to her voice, as though she was trying to convince herself as well.

Kakashi shrugged half-heartedly. His eyes had gone empty again. "I guess we'll never find out," he said lightly.

Just like that, Naruto understood the truth. The poison was still there. Fox hadn't stopped it. And if he had been about to, Miho had stopped his attempt by killing him.

Naruto's chest suddenly felt two sizes too small. Kakashi was going to die.

Sasuke 's chakra flared dangerously. Sakura made a grab for his arm, but she couldn't reach him in time. A second later, Sasuke had his hand around Miho's throat, pressing her up against the wall. "Are you working with Fox? He would've died anyway- he must've known that. Was this your plan all along?" He hissed.

"I _saved_ him. I saved your Hokage," Miho groaned, barely audible.

"Let her go," Kakashi said tiredly. "There's no point in killing her now, no matter whose side she was on." A cough started in his throat, quickly evolving into a full-blown, rasping cough that made his shoulder shake.

Sakura returned to his side just in time to take some of his weight. "We have to get you to Tsunade-shishou," she urged. "Right now, she is your only shot."

Kakashi looked like he wanted to protest, but then he sighed and nodded. That in itself was disturbing; Kakashi, voluntarily subjecting himself to going to a hospital?

More chakra signatures appeared around them, and moments later , Yamato-taichou, Yuugao, and several other ANBU entered the room.

"Hokage-sama!" Yuugao cried out, just as Yamato-taichou took in Miho and the corpse, and sighed.

"Are we too late?" He asked, drawing the attention of his colleagues.

"No," Yuugao protested.

Kakashi made a visible effort to straighten up. Even now, Naruto thought, he still didn't want to show weakness. As though it mattered at a time like this. Maybe it did. Maybe it was part of his job to reassure others that things would be okay, even when he was terrified himself. And he had to be terrified. He had to understand what was going on, and what would happen.

Naruto felt like throwing up.

"Take her to T&amp;I," Kakashi ordered the ANBU, pointing at Miho, "We have to find out her allegiance. we'll deal with the Daimyou later. Take the body as well, and make it known that we took Fox down. That the village doesn't have to be afraid anymore."

"Very well, sir," Yuugao said, making an effort to hide her shaking voice, but not quite succeeding. She turned around to join her men in following Kakashi's orders.

As their commander, Yamato didn't have to join them. He stayed put, staring at Kakashi for a moment. "We have to get you to the hospital," he said.

Sakura nodded, and for once Kakashi didn't protest.

Sasuke kicked the wall hard enough to leave a dent. Then, his expression smoothed over again. It seemed that was all he was willing to show, right here and now.

Naruto felt rudderless as they moved to the hospital. There was nothing he could do for Kakashi, or for anyone else. _Nothing_. All he could do was watch as Sakura led Kakashi through the halls of the hospital.

Tsunade arrived only minutes later. She ordered Sai back to his room, and none too soon; he seemed drawn, and judging from the fleck of blood on his hospital gown, he had torn his stitches. She took one look at Kakashi before turning pale.

Whatever strength Kakashi had been using to stay upright seemed to disappear all at once and he sagged down onto a nearby hospital chair. Naruto was pretty sure that without Sakura's support he would've ended up on the floor. He wondered whether Kakashi would've lived this long at all, if it hadn't been for the threat to the village and his friends.

Naruto was overcome with a great sense of urgency. He had to do something, he couldn't just sit around and do nothing. His heart thundered in his chest. He still felt like throwing up. Sakura didn't look much better even as she explained to Tsunade what had just happened. Sasuke was quiet as always, but the stormy look in his eyes betrayed his thoughts.

Tsunade activated her own healing technique, placing a glowing hand over Kakashi's chest. Kakashi relaxed visibly, and his breath finally came easier.

Tsunade frowned. "It's hit your lungs," she said. "We can't just keep delaying it, not anymore. The poison has progressed too far, the damage to your organs is too great. Sakura, go to my office. Find the seal we have been working on. Right now, it's the only shot we've got."

Naruto moved to sit in the chair Sakura had just vacated, and placed a hand on Kakashi shoulder. "Sensei, are you okay? Are you- are you in a lot of pain?"

Kakashi gave him a glassy-eyed look that completely belied his next answer. "It's all right. It doesn't hurt that much." He started coughing immediately after, bringing one of his bloodied hands to his mouth. It came away even bloodier than before, which Kakashi unsuccessfully tried to hide by balling it into a fist.

Tsunade saw as well. "Sasuke , get us that wheelchair. We have to move him _now_."

If Sasuke minded being ordered around, he didn't show it. He brought the wheelchair over without complaint.

Naruto wrapped an arm around Kakashi's ribs and grabbed hold of his upper arm with his free hand. "It's going to be okay, sensei. I promise," he said, trying to make himself believe it as well.

With Tsunade on Kakashi's other side, they managed to get him into the wheelchair. Puzzlingly, Tsunade placed a hand on Kakashi's head and, with the ripple of her chakra, transformed him into someone Naruto didn't recognize.

"We don't want to cause a panic," she said. "Seeing their Hokage barely conscious in a wheelchair could set it off. Follow me."

That makes sense, really. If people saw Kakashi liked this, coughing and wheezing, it would be pretty hard to believe that they had actually won. Naruto felt they wouldn't be wrong for thinking so. This didn't feel like victory. It felt like a loss.

Kakashi's plan should have been enough, but it wasn't. Saving the village was good, and Naruto was glad they had managed to do so, but he wished desperately that it hadn't come at this price. . He shook himself. Kakashi wasn't dead yet. He couldn't stop believing now, not when Kakashi needed him to be confident.

It was hard to feel confident when Kakashi's breath came in wheezing gasps, each more laboured than the last. Every now and then, Tsunade would lean forward to place a hand on Kakashi's chest and pour chakra into him. This seemed to alleviate the coughing, at least temporarily, but Kakashi's borrowed face was still turning red with every outburst. It was awful to watch.

It got worse when Genma burst around the corner. He was still dressed in hospital clothes, but the gown had been replaced by a shirt and loose trousers. "Tsunade-sama, I heard-oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize-"

He paused and stared at Kakashi. Naruto could see the wheels turning in his mind. Genma's knuckles turned white as he tightly gripped a familiar orange book. He backed away and stared after them as they went past, without speaking.

Tsunade must have somehow sent word to Shizune, because she was already there when they reached the surgery room . As per usual, Shizune was a flurry of organized chaos, somehow keeping order despite her nervous disposition. A couple of other chakra surgeons were already there, and she ordered them around.

It was the first time Naruto had seen the inside of a chakra surgery . It was a large, round room, mostly dark, with a large chakra seal painted on the floor in green paint. The medics Shizune had ordered around were already working on adjusting the seal to the circumstances, but Tsunade stopped them with a short, angry bark. She pulled Kakashi from his chair, supporting him and half-dragging him towards the center of the room. Kakashi's skin was covered in sweat and he was leaning on her heavily.

"Help me with him," Tsunade snapped at Naruto, already using her chakra to cut through his padded vest like it was butter. As she did so the transformation dropped , and he returned to his own form once more. Tsunade stepped away to make adjustments to the seal, from memory, and Naruto was left wondering what on earth he was supposed to help Kakashi with.

Sasuke snorted in irritation and moved past him. Kakashi looked up with glassy eyes, already tugging off his gloves, when Sasuke clumsily began to pull at his shirt.

"No-I can do this myself," Kakashi said, pushing Sasuke's hands away and pulling his standard issue sweater over his head. It occurred quite suddenly to Naruto that surgery required surgeons to actually see what they were operating on. His brain went blank; Kakashi and any kind of nudity were two concepts that seemed pretty irreconcilable to him.

Fortunately, he didn't have to think about it for long (or, for that matter, witness it), as Sakura chose that moment to come bursting in, carrying scrolls underneath her arm. Tsunade immediately went to meet her, and together they unrolled the scrolls. They studied them, and then Sakura went off to adjust the seal accordingly, pushing past the other medics to do her job. Shizune quickly joined her, but Tsunade paused to look at Kakashi.

"I have no idea if this is going to work. I'm sorry, but it's the best we've got." Then, she turned to Naruto and Sasuke. "Neither of you will do any good here, so go and take your mother-henning elsewhere. Make yourself useful around the village, or something, I don't care. Just go."

Naruto hesitated. "Tsunade-baa-chan... Is there really nothing…?"

Tsunade looked up and met his eyes. She shook her head. "Go and take care of the village. We will take care of him."

Naruto held her gaze. He nodded. "Okay. Don't let him do anything stupid."

The corners of Tsunade's lips curled up. "Not so long as I'm around."

Kakashi give them both a bemused look. Even with bloodshot eyes he could still manage that particular brand of exasperation and embarrassment he had trademarked. "I _am_ still here, you know."

"Yeah, about that-you better keep it that way, okay? We're counting on you," Naruto said. He managed a smile.

Kakashi looked from him to Sasuke and Sakura. Naruto wondered if he also saw Sasuke's clenched fist, or Sakura's determined brow.

"Tsunade-sama, I'll stay here with you. Even without chakra, I can at least monitor the seal. It was my idea, after all," Sakura said firmly.

Tsunade sighed. "Very well. But the boys are leaving. Now."

* * *

The world had taken on a slightly blurred tone. His peripheral vision had gone dark. There was only Tsunade, the glow of chakra, and him.

Tsunade's eyes never strayed from his face as she painted seals onto his skin.

"It didn't feel like this last time," Kakashi said "This feels more like going to sleep."

"You won't feel a thing if it happens, I'll make sure of that," she replied softly, her hand lingering a little longer on the marking on his shoulder.

"Don't make Sakura stay."

"You may well make it-"

"Even so."

"...Very well. Without her chakra, she can't help much anyway," Tsunade said brusquely, finally looking away.

"So, what's the plan?" Kakashi asked. He had to fight not to let his eyes drift shut, but he felt so tired.

"A seal."

"Again?"

"We modified it. It _should_ filter out the poison in a matter of time. Six weeks, at best. Years, worst case scenario," Tsunade explained.

" 'Should'?

"If we'd had more time..." She sighed. "But we didn't. We did the best we could, Kakashi, but you know I can make no promises. And even if it works, the damage will not be reversed. Your body- you'll need help."

Anxiety briefly spiked through the haze and fog of illness. "What kind of help?"

"Inhalers, mostly. Antibiotics. Other medication. Your lungs are bad. There will be scarring. You'll be more prone to lung disease."

"Ah. Well."

"You'll still be able to fight, you'll just have to be careful" she said, placing an unfamiliar curving line over his heart.

"I didn't ask-"

"Yes, you did."

They went silent.

"How likely do you think it is that it will work?" he asked.

Tsunade didn't immediately respond. "I can't tell you that. I just know that we would never have tried this on anyone without testing it first under ordinary circumstances, but these are no ordinary circumstances. We still need you around."

Kakashi thought about it for a moment. He nodded slowly. "Thank you."

"No problem, kid. Now, lie down."

Kakashi laid back carefully. The cold stone floor sent shivers down his spine. Or maybe that was the fever. He started coughing again, a wet, rattling cough that he'd never heard himself make before. He felt naked, more vulnerable than ever.

"Is Sakura still here?" He asked, suddenly anxious.

"You didn't hear me send her away?" Tsunade asked.

"No." What was amnesia a sign of? Was that part of dying?

"Don't worry about it. Try to breathe slowly. Once the seal activates, you'll lose consciousness. I'll take care of the rest," Tsunade's cool, calm voice cut through his concerns.

There were so many things he still wanted to ask her, like what would happen if the seal failed, but he didn't die right here and now. He also wanted to ask her to help Naruto fulfill his destiny, to continue to guide Sakura and help her grow, to find a place for Sasuke and Sai , where they could feel like they could belonged, and to take care of the village for him.

He didn't say any of those things. They were good kids. They would take care of each other. He was sure of that.

As the glow around him started to intensify, Tsunade walked to the head of the circle. He could just about see her if he turned his head. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but something scared and distressed flashed over her face, something he had never seen there before, and she didn't say anything.

He turned his eyes back to the ceiling, then closed them slowly. Whatever would happen next, his kids would be all right. He was sure of it.

The world faded.

* * *

Sakura rushed after the boys as fast as she could. With the seal once again used up, she felt a little shaky, a little bit like she hadn't had enough to eat today. She couldn't move as fast as the boys anyway, but now even more so.

Tsunade had sent her away. No, Kakashi had. He wouldn't have done that if he didn't think…

"Stupid, stupid man. Stupid!" She said to herself, trying not to cry. She knew she couldn't help, but she wanted to be there for him anyway. It felt _wrong_, not to be there when he might be dying. To just be sent off on another errand again. For her own good.

He didn't want her to watch him die. He didn't want any of them to watch him die. As though they hadn't fought in the greatest war that had ever taken place. As though they hadn't seen people die, people they had cared about. Because… because maybe, he thought that they had already seen enough, and he didn't want to add to that.

"_Stupid_."

She caught up to Sasuke and Naruto in the T&amp;I department. Unsurprisingly they appeared to be having a furious discussion with Ibiki, their faces turning red, until Sasuke decided to just push past the man instead.

Clearly, Ibiki knew that he couldn't exactly do anything to stop them, so he let them. Sometimes, diplomacy was not the answer.

Sakura chased after the boys, following them through the dank hallways until they reached Miho's cell.

They'd captured her immediately after they had arrived. With her motivations being so vague, and her having just killed the one man who could save their Hokage, it hadn't exactly been a difficult choice.

In the cells flanking hers were the men Naruto had caught near the outpost, Fox's henchmen. A few of them had used their own cyanide capsules, like ox had, but a couple of Nara clansman had put a quick stop to that. There were five left, all of them stripped of their uniforms.

Miho still wore the remnants of hers. She watched them with sharp, dark eyes. She was still wearing her makeup, Sakura suddenly noticed. She'd actually had the time to do her makeup before going off to kill Kakashi-sensei.

Miho sat up. "I told you the truth," she said, as if she could reach Sakura's mind, "Fox would've killed him. A burst of chakra to the heart- all ROOT members know how to do that."

Somehow, it was Sasuke who took the lead. Naruto looked too angry to even speak.

"And how would you know that?" Sasuke snapped.

Miho's face fell. "I thought you would know by now."

"Know what?" Sakura asked, wrapping her fingers around the prison bars. She wanted to squeeze them until they turned to dust in her hands.

Miho opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue. There, at the base, were the same thick black markings that marked Sai's tongue.

"You were ROOT," Sakura said.

Miho nodded. "Four years ago, I was assigned a position near the Daimyo. I was to impersonate a noblewoman, and influence his policies. But only a year in, Danzou died. ROOT fell apart. My seal lost some of its effectiveness. I can tell you this without dying, but I cannot speak of any still-living member of ROOT. I'm sorry. I tried to warn Hatake. I really did."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed a little. His Rinnegan seemed to pulse. Sakura wondered what he was seeing.

"Fox's men were all former ROOT?" He asked.

She nodded. "All of them. They remained loyal to Danzou, after his death. They felt wronged because the position of Hokage was given to someone like Tsunade or Hatake instead of Danzou. Some of them really were just in it for killing them. They didn't all share Fox's ambitions. Not that I know of, anyway."

"How do you know?" Sasuke asked.

"Fox recruited me. I saw what kind of idiot our Daimyo is from up-close, a man without ideas of his own who allows others to steer him. I thought Tsunade and Hatake were the same, for a while. But… The more Fox talked, the more I realized he was just going to replace a corrupt system with something equally bad," Miho dropped her head. Her hair fell down in long, silken tresses, shiny even in the dark cellar.

"You… Left his group?" Naruto said.

"In a way. There's no way to really leave. He could still reveal my identity to the Daimyo. I would be captured and executed. I… chose myself over the village by not revealing his secrets or his plans. But even I didn't know what he was planning exactly, not until your group arrived for our wedding feast. Then I realized Fox was more than just a maniac; he was a terrorist."

"You weren't a very good shinobi, were you?" Sasuke said scathingly.

"Oh, I was. I was very good. I was just no longer willing to give up for the sake of others. And… I realized there are other ways to change things. Ways that didn't involve anyone dying. I could tell from Hatake's reforms that he wanted change as well. All I needed to do was push the Daimyo in the right direction too. It was Danzou's idea, but I don't think he would be happy with how I executed it," Miho smiled slyly.

"You married the Daimyo to complete your hold over him," Sasuke said, drawing the conclusion before Sakura had.

Miho nodded. "If not me, someone else would've taken over. He's a puppet. He has strings that need to be pulled. I figured that if anyone were to do it, it might as well be me."

"So you… are essentially our Daimyo," Sakura said, feeling a little faint.

Miho smiled wryly. "Fortunately for you, one of the reasons I left Fox is because I found my sympathies lie with your side more than they did with his."

"Did you really try to save Kakashi-sensei? Is that why you killed Fox?" Naruto asked.

Miho met his eyes. "Hatake's the first Hokage to make real, radical changes in a time of peace. Maybe because he's the first not born into a privileged class, or because he's experienced not only the ravages of war but also what it did to the likes of Uchiha Obito. I also know that you're going to succeed him, and that you will be just as innovative. I don't want to be Hokage. I just want someone I can trust in that position. The two of you are that."

"If Fox did want to stop the poison, like he said he did, then you killed Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said, almost churlishly.

"I only know one thing for sure: Fox was a maniac. I don't think words could dissuade him. He lost himself to grief a long time ago. Draw your own conclusion." Miho settled back against the wall, looking as comfortable as she would on a throne.

"They're not just going to let you go," Sasuke said. "They'll interrogate you. They'll set a Yamanaka on you."

"Delicious irony, don't you think?" Miho smiled. "They will let me go because I am the Daimyo's wife, and to do otherwise would be political suicide. They will let me go, and you'll find that's not such a bad thing in the long run. Regardless of whatever else happens today. For what it's worth, though... I hope your 'Kakashi-sensei' makes it. I like him- even if he was a _horrid_ dancer."

Ibiki finally ushered them out, threatening to burn down their houses or post embarrassing childhood pictures all over the village if they did not leave right away. A more compelling argument, however, suggested by Ino, was going back to the hospital to see how Kakashi was doing.

All three of them were quiet on the way back. The light of the surgery room was still on. Sakura knew it might take hours before they were done. Yamato and Gai were both slumped in their chairs. Yuugao and Shikamaru were playing an intense game of miniature Shogi in the corner. Genma and Chouji were binging on crisps and leafing through, _really_, a copy of Icha Icha. Sai, one hand pressed against his side, watched them. There were a few others as well, scattered across the room, all of them tense.

Some of them looked up and nodded in greeting as team seven settled amongst them.

All they could do now was sit, wait, and hope.

* * *

**An: **

**Can you believe we've almost reached the end of the story? Only one chapter to go! A chapter in which will find out Kakashi's fate, the village's response, and much more!**

**Thank you for all of your support. Please let me know what you find this chapter, as well! It means the world to me.**


	27. Wear the Crown

**Chapter 27. Wear the Crown.**

* * *

He woke up slowly. Something beeped-a machine? The hospital. It had to be. He had woken up like this often enough to recognize the signs. New and unfamiliar, though, was the oxygen mask taped over his face. The straps cut into the skin of his cheek, probably leaving marks. It was connected to the machine. It must've been breathing for him, for a while at least. The air around him was warm, and the blankets felt like constraints.

Naruto was slumped in the chair next to his bed, sleeping deeply and actually drooling. Kakashi snorted through the mask, the sound oddly distorted. Sasuke wasn't there, but his sword leaned against the wall near the door so he couldn't be far off. Kakashi didn't see any sign of Sakura.

Kakashi risked a peek underneath the blankets. He was naked from the waist up. His chest looked like he'd just spent a very long, very rough night at a tattoo parlour. The seal's ink was as thick and black, and he could feel the chakra rolling off it and pushing into his body even without focusing. He pushed the blankets down a little, because in the end a lack of privacy was still preferable to boiling to death underneath hot blankets.

"Those marks are going to be there for a while yet," a voice said. He looked up. It was Tsunade, with dark moons under her eyes from exhaustion.

Kakashi dropped the blankets and tilted his head a little. "Did I get really, really drunk last night?" His voice sounded funny coming out from the oxygen mask, and was cracked from disuse. How long had he been under, anyway?

Tsunade snorted and pointed a finger at him. "The only reason you're going to get away with that one is because you almost died yesterday."

He blinked. "So this isn't drunk heaven?"

Tsunade rolled her eyes and walked over to his bedside. "I thought I told them, 'no morphine'. You get weird on morphine," she muttered to herself.

He watched as she moved past him. He did feel a little drunk, to be fair. After a moment she made an annoyed sound and turned. Grabbing him by the back of his head, she magicked a penlight out of nowhere and pointed it directly at his eyes.

"Aagh."

"Hush now," she said, holding his head in place. Her fingers felt warm on his scalp and he instinctively leaned in to the touch. "Hmm. I don't _see_ anything wrong," she said, her voice a little softer.

Kakashi forced himself out of that weird headspace that came with 'just woken up, cranky, and definitely in hospital' to raise his head and ask more important questions than 'did I get a tramp stamp'. "Did it... work, then?"

Tsunade held his gaze for a moment before breaking into a smile that could have lit up the room. "We will have to monitor you, but yes, it seems that it did. You have Sakura to thank for your life."

Relief washed over him in a tidal wave. He wasn't going to die after all. Not yet, anyway. And he could live with the not knowing when it would happen. He could live with that very easily.

He looked at Tsunade again. She looked exhausted, and he could swear he saw crow's feet around her eyes. Just how much had this surgery taken out of her? A seal this large and intricate would have taken a lot of chakra.

"Not drunk, then," he said, pointing down at his chest. "And no tramp stamp either, right?" He lifted his hips of the bed and twisted, trying to see. See, now he ended up making a tramp stamp joke after all. Terrible.

Tsunade snorted. "No, just the ingenious seal that saved your life. _Thank _you for comparing it to a drunk tattoo. It'll fade away eventually, don't worry. Your _many_ romantic conquests won't mind."

His shoulders drooped. "Did you _have_ to make it sound so sarcastic?"

Tsunade laughed again. Kakashi got the impression she was very cheerful despite her exhaustion.

In the chair, Naruto was finally stirring "Whatzat? Were you guys actually talking about tramp stamps or did I just dream that?" he croaked. He sat up and blinked lazy blue eyes at them for a moment. His eyes widened suddenly and he pointed at Kakashi in the bed. "You! You, you're-"

Kakashi cringed. "No need to make it sound like I stole something from you. I assure you this is my hospital bed, paid for from my own wallet-"

Tsunade interrupted him . "First of all, that's not true," she levelled Kakashi with a stern look, "and secondly, I would have expected Konoha's strongest to wake up a little bit sooner when there were people talking around him. That sort of thing could get you killed," she said, glaring at Naruto.

Naruto didn't even have the decency to wince. Instead, he practically danced across the room towards Kakashi, who was suddenly getting worried that people could see his face through the oxygen mask.

If Naruto could, though, he didn't show it. Instead, he threw himself at Kakashi in a bear hug, shouting something unintelligible into Kakashi's ear.

Kakashi, who liked neither hugs nor people shouting in his ear, gently peeled Naruto off. "Yeah, yeah, I'm still breathing, I already know-"

"You're going to be okay, Kakashi-sensei! Didn't I tell you? Didn't I tell you all along?" Naruto said jubilantly, grinning from ear to ear.

Tsunade hummed and placed herself in between Kakashi and Naruto. "I'm going to try and take the mask off now. You might feel a little short of breath at first. There is some scarring on your lungs."

Before Kakashi could protest, she was already working on the straps around his face. Upon seeing his panic, she raised an eyebrow and pulled a paper surgical mask from a pocket, holding it up for him to see, as if to say 'don't worry, I've got you'. A moment later the oxygen mask came off. She gave him a few seconds to breathe on his own, still blocking the view of his face from Naruto with her back, before putting the surgical mask on.

"There. How does that feel?" She asked.

His lungs felt a little tight, like a brand-new balloon that had never been inflated. Or, well, he had to assume- he'd never had a balloon for lungs. Okay, bad metaphor. Maybe he _was_ on morphine, after all. He had to breathe in a little forcefully to feel comfortable, but it no longer felt like his lungs were ripping apart at the seams. He shrugged. "Feels alright."

Tsunade gave him a scrutinizing look before nodding. "Breathing should get easier as your lungs get used to working without assistance again, but if you feel like you cannot breathe, call for help immediately."

"You said... scarring, "Naruto said, popping up at Kakashi's other side and sitting down on the edge of the bed, evidently aware it was now safe for him to see Kakashi again. "What does scarring mean?"

Tsunade sighed. "It means there are small lesions on his lungs. The lungs are resilient, you should be just fine, but if you start coughing, are short of breath , get a fever, lose weight or energy, you should go to the hospital to get yourself checked out. They are more sensitive now, Kakashi, remember that."

Kakashi sighed. "...Right." She said it so casually, as if it wasn't a summary of five different symptoms, each of them equally unpleasant, and all of them potentially signs of his impending death. He'd have felt a lot more comfortable if that list had been a little bit shorter.

"Chin up, sensei! You could be dead right now!" Naruto said cheerfully, perfectly underlining Kakashi's own thoughts.

Kakashi levelled him with a look. "...Thanks...?"

Naruto grinned back, totally oblivious. "And, hey, maybe we can graft you some new lungs like Tsunade-baa-chan did for my arm!" As if to demonstrate, he raised the fist of his prosthetic arm, pumping it into the air.

"I don't think that's how it works…"

"The hell we will," Tsunade said, completely ignoring Kakashi, "do you want him to die after all?"

"' Course I don't! I'm just saying-"

"Hokage-sama!" Someone said, and moments later Tenzou entered the room.

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Really? Even now? How often do I have to ask you?"

Tenzou smiled at him. "Many more times, senpai. And I'm very glad that you will be able to."

Kakashi smiled at him, despite his annoyance. "All right, all right. I'll let you off the hook." He suddenly remembered something. "How are Yuugao's wounds? I saw her going down in the battle yesterday. And Sai?"

Tenzou frowned. "Yesterday? Kakashi-senpai... The battle with Fox was two days ago, not one. She's doing fine. She's still a little sore, but the burn ward let her go a few hours ago. Sai is recovering well, also."

"That's good to hear-wait, two days?" Kakashi said, baffled.

"Did I forget to tell you?" Tsunade asked..

"You kind of did. What did I miss? What happened to Miho? Or Fox's men? And what on earth did any of you tell the villagers?" He said, pushing himself up in bed with a wince.

"Easy now, Kakashi. We took care of it." Tsunade said.

Tenzou didn't look quite so comfortable. "We had to let Miho go. She left a few hours ago. We couldn't keep her too long without it being suspicious, and we had no evidence that she tried to do anything but save your life."

Kakashi wasn't really surprised by the news, but he still felt bothered. He'd have to figure something out for the future- a way to keep a close eye on her, or even leash her. Perhaps some form of close cooperation... "Did you at least let Ino look at her mind again?"

Tenzou shifted uneasily. "She tried, but she still couldn't get through. Danzou's seal is strong."

Kakashi let out a long sigh and buried himself deeper into his pillows. To hell with dignity. He was tired and uncomfortable, already half naked and covered in the world's largest tramp stamp, and these were his friends. Never mind if they noticed. "And the village? What did you tell them?"

"Shikamaru and I issued a statement on that new broadcasting channel they have. Most people have televisions these days. Shikamaru figured that it would be a good way to get news out to the people. He was right, so we might use it more often in the future. Or _you_ might, anyway." Tsunade said, grinning in such a way that told him she knew exactly how come uncomfortable that made him feel.

"Ah, yes, television interviews. The world's favorite new torture device," Kakashi groaned.

"We informed the village that a rogue ninja attacked and killed the council members. We also explained that Sai was as much of a victim as the council members," Tsunade said.

"What about the pamphlets Fox spread? There are a lot of them. How much did he leak?" Kakashi asked, getting a little worried.

"Take it easy, now," Tenzou said, "I put my best men on it, and as far as we can tell, it was not as bad as we feared. Most people were already somewhat aware of Itachi's story after his name was cleared. The other leaks were smaller, scandals rather than truly damaging reports. Still, we have some damage control left to do... We will have to decide on a policy."

"When? Did you buy us time?" Kakashi asked.

"Once you are recovered. We told them you took Fox down, but were injured in the fight," Tsunade explained.

"People brought flowers and burned candles and everything, " Naruto grinned. "Though we already ate all the chocolates."

"Just injured, huh?" Kakashi asked Tsunade. It seemed to him that that explanation had left an awful lot to the imagination. It wasn't really a truth, just another scandal for Konoha to sweep under the carpet.

"We thought that would be better than telling them the truth," Tsunade said, confirming his suspicion.

"What about that time I pretended to be hurt in the middle of the street? Did they collectively forget about that?" Kakashi asked wearily.

"Nope. I jumped in and explained to people that it was part of your strategy to catch Fox. I mean, it kind of was, even if it was stupid," Naruto said, narrowing his eyes at Kakashi.

"Mahh, mahh, I already apologized for that-"

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura came storming into the room, followed by Sasuke. She was grinning, her eyes bright and happy. Sasuke's customary scowl very briefly turned into a smile before settling back into neutrality again.

Kakashi smiled right up until Sakura imitated Naruto by hugging him tightly enough to make his ribs crack. Sakura didn't usually hug him or touch him, so he blinked at her in surprise when she let go after a few seconds.

To her credit, she did seem briefly embarrassed, but then she squared her shoulders and said, much to his horror, "What? You can use a hug every now and then." She quickly redirected his train of thought away from receiving casual hugs on a daily basis (oh, the horror) by smiling at him. "We're all so relieved you're okay, sensei."

Sasuke hummed in agreement. By his standards, that was practically a hug as well. He seemed a little paler than usual, too, and almost as tired as Tsunade. Like he hadn't slept well.

Okay, that was… Maybe-okay. So now a group of people was looking at him with affection and relief, and maybe that was kind of _nice._ Maybe he could grow to like that sort of thing. But he wasn't going to cry about it. Hell no. There was just some... Dust in his left eye. Damn it, Obito.

Naruto, of course, only grinned wider. Of course, that little brat would notice. Fortunately, none of the others seemed to because, bless them, they weren't all sitting on his bed. Naruto wasn't particularly good with personal space.

"All right, all right, that's enough. All of you out! Kakashi needs his rest," Tsunade said, pulling Naruto off the bed by his ear.

"No need to be so harsh, baa-chan," he whined. "We only just got here!"

"And Kakashi has only just woken up," Tsunade interrupted him. "Out!"

Kakashi would have protested, except he really was very tired. A nap sounded pretty good, actually. And he had some thinking to do about that whole television business. It seemed like you might be able to do something with that. Something useful. Something like... Clearing up names, and sharing information with public. Public announcements, that sort of thing. Or mandatory Icha Icha viewings.

By the time Tsunade looked back, he had already fallen asleep.

* * *

In the end it took about a week of incessant complaining, two rather elaborate, barely thwarted escape plans, and a number of suggestions to the nurses that they must surely be exhausted by now, before Kakashi managed his escape from the hospital. Sasuke was surprised it had taken him this long at all.

According to Tsunade and Sakura, the damage to Kakashi's lungs was serious but ultimately benign, so long as he avoided particular strains of tropical viruses. According to Sakura, Kakashi had rolled his eyes at that and said something along the lines of, 'I'll remember that the next time I take a vacation'.

When word of Kakashi's release made its way to the villagers, a whole bunch of them showed up at the hospital's entrance to greet him, only to find the man in question was nowhere to be found. Naruto, naturally, picked up on the panic by completing his transformation to a terrified motherhen and running around for a couple of hours to try and find Kakashi, seemingly forgetting his own sensory skills.

Sasuke sighed at all of this, and snuck away in the chaos to find a moment of peace at the memorial stone. Besides, he had a sneaking suspicion…

He was proven right, of course. Kakashi was already there, hands in his pockets. His shoulders weren't as bent as usual, though, and he held his head high. He wasn't surprised when Sasuke joined him.

"Yo," Kakashi said.

Sasuke nodded back.

"You were escaping as well, then?" Kakashi guessed.

Sasuke nodded and looked at the stone. His eyes zeroed in on one name in particular. He felt that familiar burst of pain just under his breastbone, a pain that tasted of home and longing. "Thank you for adding his name," he finally said.

Kakashi gave him a surprised look. "You're welcome." He shifted on his feet, almost as if he were nervous. "Sasuke, I should tell you something. The village wants to know what happened. Frankly, I think they deserve to know. Most of them had nothing to do with the massacre. In fact, by now, everyone responsible is already dead."

Sasuke frowned, a little stunned by the sudden turning conversation. He didn't really want to talk about this. Truth be told, he'd be quite happy to never talk about it ever again. "What about all those other things Fox revealed? Or your story? Does the village deserve to know all of that as well?" he retorted.

He'd hit the mark; Kakashi flinched, although it was barely noticeable..

"We'll tell them only the bits they should know. Knowledge of the past may prevent a repeat of history," Kakashi said cryptically.

"How?" Sasuke said.

Kakashi scratched the back of his head. "Oh, there are lots of ways to change things around here when you really start thinking about it. Most of them involve a revolution, though. After what we've just been through, I think we'll just make it a quiet revolution instead. Of the nonviolent kind. I'm fortunate enough to be in a position where I can actually do something."

Sasuke groaned. "Would you just stop talking in riddles for once?"

Kakashi hummed under his breath. He held a hand over his eyes and looked at the sun. "Hmm. It's almost dinnertime, wouldn't you say? It should broadcast at 6 PM…"

"Broadcast? What-"

"Do you trust me, Sasuke?" Kakashi suddenly asked, turning to look Sasuke in the eye. His own eyes were serious for once, and sincere.

Sasuke hesitated. Kakashi had saved his life many times when he was a kid. Kakashi understood him better than most other people ever had. But he was also the Hokage. He was the face of the village that had cost Sasuke his family. He had once been ROOT. He had fought Sasuke's brother..

But the village had kept him in the blind as much as they had Sasuke, hadn't they? And he had suffered because of the village as well; his father would not have died if the village had not wished him dead, and Kakashi's friends would still be alive if they had not been sent out to war at the age of ten.

Judging by the look Kakashi sometimes got on that otherwise unreadable face, there were probably more losses, horrors he hadn't shared with anyone.

"I trust you," Sasuke said.

Relief blossomed across Kakashi's features. "Then come with me," he said.

Still confused, Sasuke followed Kakashi across the village, speeding through narrow alleyways he didn't even know existed and racing across rooftops, until they reached Naruto's apartment.

"I'm bunking with Naruto for the moment," Kakashi explained, "or as he would put it, having a sleepover."

"Don't put it like that," Sasuke said dryly.

Kakashi stared into the distance for a moment before quickly nodding. "You're probably right. Hang on, where did he leave the remote control?"

"What do you need the remote for?" Sasuke said, as he spotted a dark triangle sticking out from beneath the orange pillows that formed Naruto's couch. He peeled it out and so discovered Naruto's rather crusty looking remote control. He quickly tossed it over to Kakashi, who caught it with a faintly disgusted look.

For some reason, Kakashi turned on the television and changed the channel to a number Sasuke didn't know yet.

"It's the new channel, Konoha TV," Kakashi explained, "The name's not very catchy, and most of what they show is pretty boring, if you ask me, but they have a good gossip column-"

"Get to the point."

"Yes, sorry, it should start any moment now. Most importantly, this channel is _popular_." Kakashi said, pointing at the television.

An unfamiliar jingle chimed through the air and the logo of what looked to be a news broadcast filled the screen. A young woman Sasuke didn't know appeared, dressed impeccably and sitting in a round red chair. Next to her was another woman, this one in uniform, the equally attractive but slightly rougher looking shinobi counterpart to the civilian presenter.

The civilian woman introduced herself and her partner. Sasuke lost interest, but just as he turned to Kakashi to ask what on earth the point of this was, the camera panned to show the show's guest, sitting on a red couch.

It was Kakashi, dressed to the nines (which, for him, meant a brand-new black uniform), the Hokage hat draped casually on the chair next to him and his hair artfully ruffled. Kakashi-on-TV gave some appropriate greeting to the two presenters, but Sasuke didn't hear it; he was already staring at the real Kakashi, who gave him his best (which was to say, unconvincing) innocent look.

"When did you even have time for this?" Sasuke asked.

Kakashi shrugged."I may have sent them a clone while I was in the hospital…"

Unbelievable. Utterly unbelievable- no, when Sasuke really thought about it, this seemed exactly like something Kakashi would do. Something that would defy expectations, baffle a few knuckleheads and, most importantly, annoy his friends.

Sasuke sank down on Naruto's couch, almost drowning in the cushions. TV- Kakashi was answering a number of questions about his health, somehow avoiding most of the questions by simply remarking on how great Konoha's medics really were.

As Real-Kakashi sat down next to Sasuke, the presenters began to crack down on some more serious questions. "It has been a week since the figure known to us only as Fox was killed. Since then, we've had a number of funerals for his victims, but we're still no closer to finding out who he really was. Will you reveal his identity to us? Respectfully, in the light of all the secrets that were spilled, don't you think you owe us the truth?

TV-Kakashi nodded solemnly. "What happened with Fox was the result of a number of events in our village's past. While the individual known as Fox is solely to blame for his actions, his reasons for acting out were, I believe, not entirely unfounded." TV-Kakashi shifted a little in his chair and folded his hands together, still maintaining his serious-interview-face.

"Fox was a man called Yamanaka Shou. You may have seen him around, you may have even met him. Those who did would tell you that he was a kind man once, but a man caught up in his own grief. Fox wished to change our society, so that no one would have to lose their wife or child as he did. However, his methods were reprehensible. He murdered our council members, some of our best and bravest ANBU agents, an innocent young guard, and numerous others," TV-Kakashi paused for breath. The presenters were looking at him breathlessly, clearly aware they were sitting on a ratings-goldmine, but he continued before they could ask him any questions.

"Konoha has a long history of war. In war, sometimes we must take actions we would not otherwise have considered. People have suffered as a result of these actions. Children have been sent out to war far too young. People have lost friends and family to war. And not everyone responds to pain in the same way," TV-Kakashi's expression finally turned into something more genuine, and the real Kakashi shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

TV Kakashi sat up straighter. "In time, we will reveal more about who Fox was and why he did what he did. For now though, I think we should look to the future. Let's not linger on how we have suffered, let's focus instead on how we might ensure future generations will not suffer as we have. "

As TV-Kakashi hit his stride, Sasuke tensed. The things Kakashi was saying made sense, but he knew from experience how much harder it was to actually move on. Would Konoha move on so easily? He glanced over at Kakashi, who was looking at him quietly. Sasuke swallowed and turned back to television.

"Do you mean Fox was right? That the council was corrupt?" The ninja presenter asked.

TV-Kakashi shook his head. "The Council members were valued members of our society, but there is no denying that they made grave mistakes in their time. Their power went virtually unchecked due to the influence of the likes of Shimura Danzou. They were, let's say, set in their ways. They've done a lot of good for the village, but they have also committed many mistakes and crimes along the way. There is no way to look at the situation in a black and white way. All we can do is learn from this situation. I plan to do so by first renewing and reorganizing the Council."

The presenters exchange the surprised look. "What would this Council look like?"

"For one thing, it would be larger. A Council of five members, for starters, each member elected by the citizens of Konoha to be part of the Council for a limited number of years. Out with the old, in with the new. We must always remain flexible and innovative," TV-Kakashi said. "Over time, the Council may grow as our needs change."

"I also wish to install a spokesman for our civilian inhabitants, as well as a spokesman for retired veterans. As you might remember, I have already raised funds for the purpose of enlarging and improving our psychiatric care department. "

TV-Kakashi continued to speak, but Sasuke wasn't listening anymore. He was looking at the real Kakashi. "A Council of five? Who people can elect?"

Kakashi nodded. "Our village is no longer just an army. It's a society, one in which everyone deserves a voice, not just those with power and influence. You might even apply, if you wished."

"Who would vote for me?" Sasuke said, astonished.

"Well, maybe not right away," Kakashi scratched the back of his head with a slightly embarrassed look. "It was a hypothetical suggestion. But the point is that everyone can try. Well, almost everyone. You do need a certain amount of knowledge to be let in, but this can be tested. I… Haven't really perfected the system, but I figure it beats having the same old geezers in power for as long as they live. We'll figure the rest out on the go ."

"So you just... casually changed a council-system that has been in place for almost a hundred years," Sasuke said faintly.

Kakashi shrugged. "Isn't that what you wanted to do? I was just a little bit less violent, although of course I'm also in a much better position to change things. I'm sure people will complain. Not everyone will agree, but that's okay. I'd rather go down in history as being controversial than as someone who upheld a poisonous system."

He nodded at the television. "I made some points about the whole 'let-orphans- live- on- their- own-aged- seven' thing we've got going on, too," he added, actually looking a little proud of himself. That was a new look for him.

"So what, orphanages?" Sasuke asked, trying not to sound as affected as he felt. Those years yet lived on his own after the massacre had been some of the hardest of his life, and he'd had more difficult years than good years. But Kakashi probably understood that. His father had died when he was seven, too. His mother before that. He must've been subjected to the exact same treatment. Konoha's fabled 'let's expect the traumatized orphan to take care of himself' policy, something Sasuke secretly thought off as the 'let's create unstable psychopaths' plan.

"Foster homes, I was thinking," Kakashi said, upending Sasuke's train of thought.

Sasuke had to swallow past the lump in his throat. "You've been doing a lot of thinking while you were supposed to be resting," he mumbled.

"What do you think of it?" Kakashi asked unexpectedly.

Sasuke shrugged. "It won't bring back the dead," he said a little petulantly, "but... It's a good start." He didn't really trust himself to say more.

Kakashi smiled unexpectedly and nodded. "That's all I needed to hear. A good start is all we can do for now . People need time to adjust to new situations , and to change their way of thinking . I can't change everything I want in one go, but I can make a start and see how far I can get during my reign. Then I can leave the rest to your generation."

Sasuke nodded slowly and leaned forward. The television was still on and the people were still talking, but he didn't hear any of it. He was too busy thinking. "And what about the secrets Fox shared? The people want answers."

Kakashi shrugged. "And so long as those secrets do not threaten the safety of the village, they will have their answers. Fox revealed a lot, but not everything. Depending on the age and nature of the case, we will decide how much to share. I figure we might be able to clear a few names, at least."

Sasuke looked down. That was… Something, at least. Perhaps more people would know the truth about their deceased loved ones. And maybe the village would become better place, albeit at a slow pace. It was certainly better than keeping everything the way it currently was.

He had more questions for Kakashi, but before he could ask them Naruto and Sakura burst into the room.

"Do you kids ever knock?" Kakashi asked them.

"This is my home, remember? And _you_ just did something crazy again! I'm allowed to be every bit as loud and intrusive as I can be, now," Naruto said, pointing an accusing finger at Kakashi's face.

Kakashi's shoulders drooped. "Mahh, mahh-"

"And when, exactly, did you have to time to record that interview?" Sakura said, crossing her arms and tapping her foot dangerously.

Kakashi seemed to sense the impending danger, and slunk back into the cushions. "Now, don't get upset-"

"You know, I think this deserves a bit of revenge," Sakura said slyly, her angry expression shifting from fondness and pride to vindictiveness.

"I know," Naruto said, his face twisting into an absolutely vicious smile, "we should hold a celebration for your quick return from hospital," he said, his smile growing even wider when it elicited an undignified squawk of protest from Kakashi.

Sasuke sighed. Whatever would happen, whatever would change, he had a feeling his team would always be the same. Truth be told, there was something very comforting about that.

* * *

Much to Kakashi's disstress, Naruto kept his word and threw a party barely a day later. By now the village had somewhat returned to its usual, calm state. Two people had already signed up for the Council elections, which Kakashi thought had to be a record. Of course, it wasn't very hard to break a record when there had never been an election before.

The party itself was every bit as loud and enthusiastic as one might expect of its host. Naruto was laughing throughout the evening, entertaining guests with his sheer energy and force of personality. He had invited Kakashi's friends as well as his own, stacking his small apartment to the brim.

Genma was there as well, finally released from the hospital, as was Sai, who seemed a little unsure of what to do with all these people around. Fortunately Ino took him in by curling an arm around his and introducing him to people.

Gai was present as well, of course, never one to avoid a party. He joined Kakashi on the balcony, where Kakashi had escaped to be able to breathe a little bit better. Tsunade had explained to him that the seal would filter the poison out , but it would take time. His recovery was far from complete. As far as Kakashi was concerned, he was perfectly content so long as he could still fight, and Tsunade had convinced him that that would not be a problem.

Gai didn't know any of this yet, but took the opportunity to interrogate Kakashi on the subject. Kakashi sighed and leaned on the balustrade. He gave in, and told his friend, the whole story. Once he had, he did his best to avoid Gai's eyes.

"You didn't tell me how bad it was," Gai said. "Why not? I could've helped you."

Kakashi didn't respond right away. To be honest, he wasn't entirely sure why he hadn't asked for more help. Maybe it was because he never asked for help. Never had, never would. Naruto had been angry about that as well, and Kakashi was beginning to understand that doing so placed a strain on his friends rather than making things easier for them, as he had always thought.

"I didn't want to be a burden," he said finally. "But I think I was wrong about that. I'm sorry."

"You've never been a burden. Friends are there to help each other, aren't they? Didn't you help me, with my legs?" Gai said quietly, entering one of his rare solemn moods.

Naruto's apartment was pretty high up, so it allowed for beautiful view. On the horizon, the sun was already going down, casting an orange light over the village. Gai's tan skin looked almost orange, and Kakashi had the sudden, rather bizarre thought of an orange version of Gai, still wearing his green jumpsuit, running off into the sunset. He shook his head. Clearly, he had been spending way too much time in Naruto's orange apartment. He couldn't wait to get his own apartment back.

"Yeah," he sighed. "I'm starting to understand that it goes both ways."

Gai's subsequent grin was so wide that Kakashi worried his face would split in half. "It's about time, rival. It's about damn time."

The rest of the night passed in a blur. Several others came to talk to him as well, such as Genma, who gave him his book back, Chouji, who kept trying to treat him to fancy food-rolls, and Yuugao, who, ridiculously enough, tried to apologize for getting herself hospitalized in the final fight. Kakashi managed to placate her, and somehow ended up getting an offer for a free meal out of it. Well. It could never hurt to make a new friend.

Slowly but surely, though, his friends began to leave, until only his team was left. Naruto, Sakura, Sai, even Sasuke and Tenzou. They were all hanging around on the couch and the chairs, giving him expectant looks when he entered the room.

"Well," Kakashi said, rubbing the back of his head, "thank you. That was... nice."

Sakura exchanged a look with Naruto, and they both smiled. Knowing them, she had helped Naruto organize the whole thing. Sasuke gave something that resembled a smile as well. That he had stuck around at all was perhaps the biggest miracle of the centurys. He was not exactly sociable, and even with his reputation once again cleared, he was not particularly popular either. That he had stuck around was all the more meaningful for it.

Now, though, they were all exchanging looks again. His instincts flared up. They were planning something, weren't they? But what?

Sakura, who was probably the ringleader, started it off. "Kakashi-sensei... Before we go, we kind of wanted to talk to you," she said carefully.

Kakashi paused mid-movement. He had a feeling what this would be about, but that didn't mean he had to like it. He cleared his throat. "What is it?"

"Would you sit down?" Sakura asked.

Ahh. Well. He took a deep breath. After everything that had happened, everything they'd done for him... He owed them this.

He sat down on the only unoccupied spot in the room (the dinner table, as it so happened), folded his arms, and forced a smile. "Sure."

Naruto and Sakura watched him anxiously. Sasuke was more composed, as he had already expected.

"So..." Kakashi shrugged, feeling a bit awkward. "What would you like to know?"

Naruto shared an uneasy glance with Sakura.

Sasuke leaned back in his chair, one arm still resting on the table. Surprisingly, he was the first to speak. "We want to know if you're okay."

Kakashi blinked. Okay. Maybe not quite what he'd expected, after all. "Ahh..."

Naruto quickly leapt in to help his friend explain. "Y'see, we- well, we saw bits of your past, and all that. Even if they were edited, and not really real, they were still based off of real events. Right?"

"...Yes. I suppose they were."

"So we- we saw what happened with your dad. Or- or what the village did to him," Sakura added, looking pained.

"And your team. 'Cause I knew about Obito, because I saw his half of the story, but I hadn't seen yours, and I didn't know everything, and what happened with Rin was- was awful, beyond awful. And my dad too, 'cause you loved him, and then he died, like Rin and Obito and your parents," Naruto was frowning now, pain filling his expressive eyes. "And it's just that... You know our stories, but we only know bits and pieces of yours."

Even though Naruto's words were more ramble than dialogue, they still touched something inside Kakashi. The fact that they knew all of these things about him made him feel vulnerable. These were his weaknesses, the cracked lines of his soul he had tried to hide from them for so long.

And now they knew almost everything- and could use all of it against him, if they so chose.

Kakashi leaned forward and looked at his knees, not really sure of what to say. His stomach fluttered nervously. They knew now. They knew of his weakness."Mahh... I guess you know me pretty well now, right? Now that you know more of my story."

"No, that's the thing," Naruto argued, "we only know the bits that went wrong. And only what other people told us. We don't know the story at all- we don't know what got you through those moments-"

"Or what you did in between," Sakura added softly.

"Or any of the good bits, aside from, y'know, what the three of us got to see. But we're a part of your life now, whether you like it or not. And, uhh, well- this is embarrassing- but we want to see all of it, I guess." Naruto rubbed at his face as his cheeks turned red.

Kakashi stared at them.

"Idiot. Stop making it sound like you're coming on to him," Sasuke argued, mere seconds away from rolling his eyes.

"I'm just trying to express my feelings! You should try it sometime, you big-"

"What the boys are _trying_ to say-" Sakura gave Naruto a quick shove, almost upending him on the floor- "is that we really appreciate your being in our lives. We're really glad you got to be our sensei, even if not everything turned out the way we wanted them to."

Here, Sasuke looked away briefly, but Sakura pressed on. "But we're not kids anymore. You're our sensei, but you're our friend too. And we'd- we'd like to know your story. The whole story. Not some edited version Fox pasted together. So we can ... I don't know. Understand you better."

Tenzou finally chimed in, smiling softly. "You should only tell us what you want to share, of course. But... The five of us? We're kind of a family now."

That surprised Kakashi. Emotion welled up, leaving a lump in his throat. Family. They thought of him as family. He had thought of them that way for a while, but he'd never thought they felt the same way. Naruto, sure, because he didn't have parents either. It made more sense for him. But Sakura, and Sasuke, who was so attached to his blood family, or Tenzou, always so independent? And even Sai, strangely shy, loner Sai?

"Like, like, d'you have baby pictures? Or pictures with your mom and dad?" Naruto interrupted his thoughts, bouncing in his seat. "I bet you were a really weird-looking baby- Ouch, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura's eyebrow twitched dangerously as she rubbed her Fist of Righteous Fury while Naruto once again heaved himself back onto his chair.

"Naruto can be the weird baby brother," Sai said flatly, drawing out more angry screams from Naruto.

Kakashi was stunned. They'd seen so much of his life: his father, Obito, Rin, Minato-sensei... They knew of his failures, and they didn't care. All they wanted to know was how he'd gotten _through_ it. Ha.

Like there was some great secret so surviving heartbreak. Like they didn't already know that the only thing to do is to keep breathing.

"I can't tell you how-" Kakashi stopped himself. That wasn't what it was about, was it? They weren't asking him in a do-it-yourself, 'heartbreak for dummies' sort of way. They didn't want his advice. They'd suffered plenty of heartbreak themselves, and they'd survived. They were sitting here right in front of him, alive and breathing and more or less okay. They didn't want anything from him, other than to know that he was okay. Other than to know his story. These amazing, brave people, who had all overcome so much themselves, wanted to know if he was okay.

No one had ever asked him that before.

His throat constricted.

He made a gesture with his hand and leaned forward, hands on his knees. The world felt a little lighter, a little bit simpler, because they were here with him. He wasn't alone anymore, and he hadn't really been alone for a while now. He had a family again, and he couldn't really imagine anything better than that.

He smiled.

"Alright. What do you want to know?"

* * *

**And that's the end of a two-year enterprise. I'm very happy and proud that I finished it, but I couldn't have done it without you. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing, particularly those amongst you who reviewed every chapter. If you loved this story, tell your friends! Post on tumblr! I'd love some more exposure for my story:D**

**Future installments of ULH:**

**I'm not sure I will write a sequel for the story as I don't currently have any plot ideas, but ****I'd love to take prompts**** for this 'verse if you have any. So please leave a prompt if you have one. I'm up for just about anything. For example, Naruto and Kakashi-living-together-shenanigans, or any other kind of dynamic or scene you might like to see, past, present or future. **

**I'm also on tumblr now, as hii-raeth. **

**Again, thank you all for reading! Cheers.**


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